Snowmans, One hit fanfic stop!
by Snowman23
Summary: A series of one-hit stories: characters include: Isara Gunther, Marina Wulstan and Ted Ustinov, Ramona Linton and Nils Daerden, Alexis Hilden, Marion Seghiban, Rene Randall, Welkin and Magari. Newest character and story: Chloe Blixen- A Painters Plight.
1. Theimer and Isana's Sacrifice

Isara giggled to herself as she snuck around the house, nearby her older brother Welkin was counting out loud, "15... 16... 17... 18..." he was nearing his final count of 25, before he came looking for her. It was her favourite game, hide and seek and she was pretty good at it, for an 11 year old. Her small height, petite frame and quiet nature allowed her to hid in small places and remain hidden for great lengths of time.

"20... 21... 22..." Welkin continued aloud. Isara tiptoed to her usual hiding places, but was sure that Welkin must her known where they were as well, he was the only one she usually played with most times. Being shy in nature, having few friends and the nature of how she was treated just for being born Darcsen made her stay at home most of the time. Leaving the house only to go to school or to the store if Belgen Gunther ever asked her to do some shopping for the family.

Frantic to find a new hiding place, Isara ran down one of the many hallways of the Gunther family home. She was now in front of a large wooden door, which leads into a small side building connected to the house. She looked up at the door and scratched her little head, remembering Mr. Guther's words from before, the rules he told them before they ever started their first game of hide and seek.

"_**You must stay out of this place, both of you," he said to his son and adopted daughter, "It's off-limits, the rest of the house is yours to play in**_."

"24... 25!" Welkin called out, "Ready or not, here I come!"

Mr. Gunther wasn't around, and Isara had no where else to run to, it was too far to the end of the hall the other way and Welkin was already looking for her. She grinned to herself, "Just this once… he'll never find me in here."

Isara then turned the knob and quickly ducked inside; she knelt down and looked through the small keyhole. After a few moments of waiting, she saw Welkin look down the hall and search the area, he didn't find her down here so he turned and walked away. Once he was gone, Isara turned and cupped her hands over her mouth to muffle her giggles and laughter as not to give away her hiding place.

Once she stopped and opened her eyes she took in a sight that she had never seen before in all of her five years of living in the Gunther household. The off-limits building that she was inside was wide and vast. All along one side were numerous drawers, cupboards and large red tool chests that must have held a great many tools and other equipment. Nearby, there was also a lot of machinery that was used for metal working as well. But all of those were outdone by something else, something massive in the middle of the entire shop. Whatever it was, it towered over little Isara and was completely covered in a giant, white sheet, like the kind you'd find on a bed.

Naturally, curiosity got the better of her and Isara slowly made her way over to the massive covered object. She swallowed nervously and grasped the sheet with both hands and gave it a hard tug, what she saw next made her eyes grow wide as saucers and gasp so loud and hard that all her breath had left her body.

It was a tank, of all the things it could have been, it was a giant, blue, red and white tank. The Gunther's actually had a tank hidden inside this shop that was connected to their household. Isara had to crank her head all the way back to look at the tank in full detail. It looked very old, the paint was starting to fade and some of the treads and tread wheels looked rusted and worn. As Isara walked around the tank, she looked up at the giant, long gun barrel and traced it all the way back to its turret. She then saw a small, slightly faded, white coloured flower, what kind, she didn't know.

Suddenly, "Isara!" Belgen Gunther's voice shouted from behind her. Isara jumped in surprise and turned around, spotting the old man standing in the doorway that was connected to the household, his hands on his hips, eyebrows furrowed in disappointment for breaking one of his rules.

"M-Mr. Gunther?" Isara cried, "I-I know that I'm not supposed to be in here… I'm sorry, I'll leave now!"

Isara left the tank and started to run towards the door and was about to make her way past Belgen, but he placed his hand on her small shoulder and stopped her. "No… no, I figured that you'd find this place sooner or later…" he said, "Maybe now you're old enough that I can tell you something, something that will definitely hurt you to hear."

Isara backed up and looked up at Belgen, "What is it about?"

Belgen sighed and walked past Isara and took a seat on top of a nearby crate, he then looked at Isara and patted his knee. Isara nodded and ran up to Belgen and hopped up and sat on his knee, he wrapped one arm around her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Do you remember anything about your mother and father, before you came here to live with me?"

Isara thought long and hard, for a moment and only a moment, numerous images flashed in her head, black and white in color and fuzzy, clouded, unclear. They were too vague for her to clearly remember, but something stuck out among all of those fuzzy memories and her eyes shot open.

"I've seen this… I've seen this before Mr. Gunther!" Isara cried, pointing to the large tank, "…I know I have …"

Belgen nodded his head sadly, "So you weren't too young to remember… I had kind of hoped that you wouldn't remember."

Isara tilted her small head, blinking her small blue eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Belgen sighed deep and long before looking down at Isara, "Isara… you've seen this tank before… because your father and mother built it."

Isara's mouth dropped open, "M-my father and mother?"

"Yes, Your father, my best friend… Theimer built this with his own two hands… with great, great help from your mother, Isana." Belgen went on, "It was only one of two sister tanks, identical in every way. In the truest form of friendship, he built this one you see before you, for me."

Isara nodded and Belgen stroked her hair softly, "Like you, this tank has lost its only family member… but it was not a loss in vain, believe me, I know… I was there five years ago."

* * *

_Young 6 year old Isara was browsing the general store of her small Darcsen town in North-Western Gallia. She was looking for a just right gift for her father, Theimer; it was his birthday today after all. She didn't see much of him, for he was always working, so was her mother. But she loved them none-the-less and wanted to get him something, something precious._

_She found a small Darcsen charm doll behind a small glass display box at the front of the store, near the cash register. She dug her small change purse out of her pocket, popped the top and dumped the coins into her hands and began to count._

_As she was counting, a voice called to her, "Isara? Isara, my dear, is that you?" Mrs. Anna's voice called out from the front of the store. Isara looked up and spotted the old Darcsen woman smiling down at her._

_"Hi!" Isara greeted with a smile and a wave._

_"Do you need help with anything?" she asked._

_Isara nodded her head and pointed to the small doll, and asked "How much is this?"_

_Mrs. Anna opened the display case with a key and dug out the small doll and checked the price tag, "It's 20 ducats." she replied._

_Isara looked down at her coins, "Is this enough?" she asked as she held out her hand out to Mrs. Anna._

_Mrs. Anna put on her glasses that she needed to see up close with and looked at Isara's pile of ducats. She counted and only came up with 14 Ducats and small change, not enough._

_"It's my daddy's birthday today; I want to buy him this!" Isara announced proudly._

_Mrs. Anna was very fond of Isara and respected her father a great deal. She knew that he was working on a secret project, one that could possibly help this town out a lot once it was completed. But what she was about to do, she did it for Isara mostly._

_"Here, take this to your father," she offered with outstretched hands, giving Isara the doll for free._

_Isara gasped, her eyes sparkling in pure joy, "Are you sure? I can have this for free?"_

_Mrs. Anna chuckled and patted Isara on the held and rested her hand there, "Only for you Isara, my favourite customer," she said, "Wish your father a happy birthday for me, ok?"_

_Isara giggled and hugged the doll to her chest, "Thank you so much! I will, I promise!"_

_Isara then left the store and skipped down the dirt road, leading to her small house on the outskirts of town. Not long after, she arrived, to the sight of Belgen, her father's best friend standing just outside her door. He looked up and spotted her coming and started walking towards her._

_"Afternoon Isara!" he called out with a wave._

_Isara looked up and smiled at him, "Hello Mr. Gunther," she replied, she then looked around, "Is my daddy around?"_

_Belgen shook his head, "No, he's out working, so is your mother," he started, "I'm here to take care of you for the day. They'll both be home later tonight."_

_Isara lowered her head, dropping the doll in the process, "He's always out working… I'll be asleep when he gets back won't I?"_

_Belgen bit his lip, "Yes… probably," he admitted, "But don't worry, another few days and their project will be completed. Then they'll be home all the time, I promise."_

_Isara sniffled, Belgen noticed and placed his hand under her chin and lifted her small head, noticing tears in her eyes. "What's wrong Isara?"_

_"Oh Mr. Gunther… it's my daddy's birthday and I have a gift that I want to give him, today, on his birthday!"_

_Belgen rubbed his chin with his other hand, "So it is… I had nearly forgotten about that." he said, he then thought of something and grinned, "Alright, since it's such a special day, would you like me to take you to go see him now?"_

_Isara's eyes popped wide open, she smiled a pearly white grin, and cried, "Can I? Can I go see him now and give him his gift?"_

_Belgen laughed and nodded his head, "For sure, it's his birthday after all!"_

_Belgen then walked hand in hand with Isara back into town and through the streets, to a large warehouse located in the middle of the town. It was under guard by some members of the town watch, but they knew who Belgen was, a hero from the first war and full authorized to come and go as he pleased in the warehouse area. The two members of the town watched looked at Isara curiously and the doll that she was holding._

_Belgen bent down and picked her up and held onto her, looking at her, then the guards, "This is Isara, daughter of Theimer and Isana. I'm taking her in with me this time, is that alright?"_

_They nodded, "Of course Mr. Gunther, anything for Theimer and yourself."_

_Belgen nodded back and started walking past the main gate and towards the warehouse doors. Once he got near them, he set Isara down and walked up to the door handles, grasping one and looking back at Isara._

_"I'm sure you've always been wondering where your mommy and daddy are most of the time," he began, "Well, here is where they spent so much of their time!"_

_Belgen then pulled the door open, revealing a vast, open warehouse, buzzing with activity. There were 6 Darcsen workers, all working on two very large, very powerful looking tanks. One tank was fully painted; the other one was mostly unpainted and light grey in colour. The only exception was a large, rectangular paintjob; best of all was that it was the Traditional Darcsen color and pattern on the side of the tank._

_One Darcsen man was passing tank shells up to another man already on top of the coloured tank; he was loading them into the magazines. A Darcsen female worker was putting the finishing touches on painting a small white flower on one of the tanks turrets, one that was fully painted in the colours of Red, White and Blue, those of Gallia._

_Finally, after some looking around, Isara spotted him, her father, Theimer. He was closing the access hatch to the rear radiators of the unpainted tank. He wiped his sweaty head with the back of his work overalls. He had short, dark-blue hair and circular glasses on his face._

_Unable to contain her excitement, Isara called out to him, "DADDY!"_

_Theimer seemed to be caught off guard, "Isara? Sweetie is that you?"_

_"Daddy!" Isara repeated, this time running across the shop, towards her father with outstretched arms. She then reached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him hard._

_Theimer removed his work gloves and bent down and picked Isara up, "Isara… what are you doing here?"_

_"Mr. Gunther brought me, I have something-" she started, another voice cut her off._

_"Isara?" Isana's voiced called out from atop the unpainted tank. Isara looked up and saw her mother's head sticking out from the turret hatch, her long, dark-blue hair tired back in a pony-tail with goggles perched on top of her head… She quickly climbed out and jumped to the concrete floor below, running over to her husband and her daughter. She laughed in surprise and kissed Isara on the cheek._

_"Sweetheart, what in the world are you doing here?" Isana asked._

_Isara reached one little arm over and pulled her mother close, to join in the hug with her father, "You do remember what day it is today, mommy? Daddy?"_

_Isana gasped, brought a hand up to her forehead and laughed, "Oh my… Theimer, it's your birthday, you fool!"_

_"It is?" Theimer asked, looking just as surprised._

_"Yes it is… oh Isara, I'm so sorry, we both forgot." Isana apologized._

_Theimer blushed and nodded, "Yeah… work got the better of us and we both forgot."_

_Isara chuckled, "Don't worry, I remembered!" She then held up the small doll and showed both of her parents, "I got daddy a protective charm doll, and I want him to have it so that he'll always be safe and remember me!"_

_Theimer grinned and took the small doll from Isara, he then reached back and placed it inside his work belt, in its own little pouch, "Thank you Isara, I'll treasure it always!"_

_"Don't worry Isara, just another few days and we'll be done here, then we can all be together again," Isana said, "Your daddy is going to become a very rich man after this. Then we'll be there for you, everyday from now on, we promise!"_

_Isara's eyes began to well up with tears and she nodded her little head, her short dark-blue hair bobbing up and down. She believed them and knew they would finally be a real family, spending each day together, and she couldn't ask for anything more._

_The family then shared another warm, group hug and Belgen looked on, smiling and admiring the scene of the lovely family all together. That however, was interrupted by a loud and sudden explosion outside. Next was a loud, wailing siren going off and staying on, a klaxon horn with a special siren. It was one that all of the Darcsen residents feared to hear and prayed not to._

_Isana listened to the special shrill, wailing siren and her mouth dropped open, both Theimer and Isana looked at each other with horror in their eyes and at the same time they cried, "…A Hunt!"_

_Theimer passed Isara to his wife and ran to his friend Belgen, "My friend, the Imperials have commenced a hunt on our village… a Darcsen hunt!"_

_Another explosion went off in the distant, the siren still blaring, "A hunt… it cannot be!" Belgen said._

_Theimer hated to admit it, but he was more worried about something else, "My friend, we have to get these tanks out of here!" he cried, "I do not think they know what we are building here as it is a secret project. But If the Imperials ever find them… we cannot let that happen!"_

_Belgen nodded, these were proto-type tanks after all. If the Imperials ever got their hands on the designs or even the tanks themselves, they would take away Gallia's chance at an advanced tank, one's far more powerful than Gallia's current tanks and possibly better than some of the Empire's tank types._

_Isana jumped up onto the unpainted tank and cupped her hands around her mouth, "Everyone, gather up what you can and get out of the town before the Imperials get here!" she yelled among even more explosions outside._

_The entire place then went into a frenzy as some of the Darcsen workers scrambled to get to the offices and other areas of the warehouse where the secret plans, designs and other important files, paperwork and blueprints for the proto-type tanks were. Meanwhile Isana was pushing away all of the carts, tool chests and other items that were cluttered around the tank out of the way, so they could move out._

_Isara was looking around, breathing quickly in and out in fear. She was then picked up by Theimer, her father. "Don't worry Isara, we're getting out of here before the bad men come," he reassured, "I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise!"_

_"Theimer, put her in the tank, she'll be the safest in there!" Belgen suggested._

_Isana rushed up to Theimer and took Isara from her husband and held onto her trembling daughter. Theimer shook his head and ran up to Belgen, placing his hand on his shoulder._

_"No my friend… she won't be safe in there," Theimer whispered, at the same time another long haired female worker ran up to him and passed him two devices with long, metal antenna's. "I've placed numerous, high yield explosives inside each of these tanks my friend, in all the area's where they will cause the most damage, for this very purpose, to prevent them from being captured by anyone."_

_Belgen lowered his head and nodded, "I understand… let me help! I'll help you get these tanks out of here."_

_Theimer looked worried, "Are you sure my friend… are you willing to do what is necessary to prevent these tanks from being stolen, should it come to it?"_

_Belgen looked at his friend with determined, un-fearful eyes and held out his hand, "Of course… my friend!"_

_Theimer smiled and placed the detonator in his hand, "Thank you, now we must get out of here before they get here!" he then ran back to his wife and daughters side._

_Isana passed Isara back to Theimer and ran to her locker, taking an item out of running back to them. Isara was still looking around before she felt something being placed over her head and onto her shoulders. She looked down and saw that her mother had put a Darcsen shawl over her shoulders, her shawl._

_"It's blessed with a protective charm," she said with tears in her eyes, "It'll keep you safe through all of this, I swear it."_

_Isara nodded and grasped the shawl with one hand, while holding onto her father with the other. Meanwhile, the workers were still running around, only now some had everything they needed and were running towards the large doors that the tanks exited through. One of the workers slammed his hand against the large red button and the door began to raise open._

_At the same time, a female Darcsen worker was climbing into the painted proto-type tank, with Belgen following right behind her. She quickly climbed to the front and climbed into the driver's seat, furiously flipping switches and turning knobs, starting the massive machine up._

_Nearby, Isana was crouched down behind the unpainted tank, rocking Isara back and forth, while her father was at the front of the warehouse, guiding a backwards driving car into the warehouse. Once it was in place, in between both of the massive tanks, Theimer ran back and returned to his wife and daughter. And together, they ran towards the black car, Theimer opening the rear door and Isana putting Isara inside, next to another female Darcsen worker, who took hold of her._

_Isana was about to get out of the car, but Isara grabbed her hands, "Mommy! Where are you going?" she asked._

_"shh, it's alright, I'm going to help your father out," Isana said, pointing to the unpainted tank next to them, "He needs me to drive that for him, while he takes control of the weapons and other systems."_

_"No Mommy, stay with me!" Isara pleaded._

_It broke her heart, but Isana shook her head, "Listen to me sweetie, we'll never be able to get out of here, if I don't drive that tank for him," she replied, her voice cracking in sadness, "Don't worry, we'll be alright, we're inside an armoured tank after all and you will be protected on both sides, by us and your uncle Belgen in the other tank next to you."_

_Isara then started to take off her shawl, "Then take the shawl back, it'll protect you even more!"_

_Isana stopped her and took her hands with her own, "No sweetie, you keep it on," she responded, "Do this for me; I'll feel more at ease knowing you have it."_

_A tear dropped from Isara's eye, "Alright… for you mommy."_

_"Good girl…" Isana cried, she then leaned forward and kissed her daughter on the forehead, then slammed the door shut. She turned and quickly climbed up the treads and was on top of the tank, Theimer was right behind her. Suddenly, one of the workers rushing past bumped him and the Darcsen protective charm doll fell out of the pouch it was hanging from and fell to the concrete floor below. Sadly, he didn't notice and was already up and on top of the tank._

_A second later, Isana entered the tank through the top hatch and moved to the front, flipping switches, turning knobs and getting the massive beast started, while Theimer sat in the turret seat and put on a headset. The rear radiators sputtered for a moment and shot out some black smoke, then quickly turned to a humming, blue glow as it was fully started. Isara moved to the window, placed her hands on the glass and looked at the blue, glowing radiator and massive structure of the tank next to her. She looked back and saw the other painted tank was also up and running._

_Theimer then activated his headset, "Belgen, can you hear me?" he asked._

_There was crackle, then Belgen responded, "Roger, can hear you loud and clear!" he responded, "Are you sure these tanks are ready to go?"_

_"As close as they'll ever be," Theimer responded, "Don't worry my friend, we'll make it out of here. Just make sure that you keep my daughters car in between both of these tanks, we are her shield. We must make absolutely certain that nothing happens to her."_

_"Don't worry old friend, nothing will happen to her, I promise."_

_Theimer chuckled with tears in his eyes, "I know… I trust you with her life, you and you alone."_

_"Then let's get out of here while we can!" Belgen urged._

_Both tanks then lurched forward, with Isara's car in between both tanks, being protected on both flanks. The tanks and car then began to exit the warehouse, but the sight they saw was a terrible one. There were large, black columns of smoke rising from the far northern side of town, gunfire and explosions going off and the cries of the town folk were audible, even over the roaring of the tanks. The tanks then exited the warehouse, turned down the street and began to race to the other side of town, where the fighting wasn't taking place._

_There were Darcsen citizens running down the streets, exiting houses with hastily packed backpacks, suitcases and some simply carrying items and household pets in their hands and running away from all of the fighting. The girl with Isara held onto her tight, not letting her look out of the window at the terrible events taking place outside._

_Isana was holding the steering wheel of the tank so hard her knuckles were turning white, it hurt her to be driving away and not stopping to help all of the town folk that she had come to know so well and be friends with. Theimer felt the same way, but he was busy, trying to find a Gallian militia radio signal, to call for help and report the situation going on in their home town._

_He finally got one and started his distress call, "This is Theimer of the Darcsen town of Alkmaar. Our town is under attack by Imperials who have commenced a Darcsen hunt and are currently killing or enslaving our citizens. We request immediate assistance of any friendly Gallian units in the area, please help!"_

* * *

_Not far away, a radio operator of a mobile armoured unit intercepted the distress call and called for the commander. He quickly came and the radio operator turned to him._

_"Sir, we've just gotten a distress call from residents of Alkmaar, they are currently under attack by Imperials performing what he called 'a hunt'."_

_The commander scratched his head, "Alkmaar… that's that Darcsen town up north isn't it?"_

_"Y-yes sir," he replied._

_"Ignore it; it's just a couple of Dark-hairs being killed, nothing major."_

_"B-but sir, shouldn't we-"_

_"That's an order!" the commander roared, "They're not worth the waste of fuel, shells and manpower from us."_

_The radio operator head the distress call once again, but this time flipped a switch and cut off all contact with them._

* * *

_Meanwhile, Theimer tried once more time, then slammed his fist against the side of the turret hull and cursed. "What's wrong?" Isana asked, looking back._

_"No one's responding… no help is coming…" Theimer replied hopelessly._

_The tanks then exited the town with Isara's car still in between them. The road leading out of town was congested with traffic and cars and trucks of all kinds. There were even some residents running along the road, some desperately ditching the road to drive along the sloppy grass hills in an attempt to get away quicker than taking the road. There were cries from many citizens as the tanks drove by, cries for help, for a ride, for anything._

_The tanks then turned right and ditched the road and began to climb a hill, away from town. Once they were at the top of hill they came to a halt, Theimer and Belgen exited the hatch and looked back at the town. Many of the buildings were on fire, explosions and gunfire were still going off and terrified screams could be heard._

_Theimer lowered his head, locking eyes with his wife who was still inside the tank, his breathing increased as air escaped through his nose. Isana read his eyes, lowered her head and covered her teary eyes with one of her hands and nodded her head. She then climbed back into the driver's seat, while Theimer looked over at his friend, two tear drops falling from his eyes. Belgen shook his head, completely apposing his friend's idea. Theimer then looked down at his daughter, who had moved up to the passengers side window and was looking up at her father._

_"Theimer! You can't be serious! Don't do it Theimer!"_

_But it was too late; the tank reversed and was heading back down the slope, back towards the town. Belgen cursed and brought his hand up to his headset. "Theimer! Get back here, think of your daughter!"_

_There was a moment of silence as the tank turned 180 degrees and began to race back to the city, before Theimer responded with, "I am thinking of my daughter… and all the other daughters and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters of our town. Right now they're either being exterminated or rounded up for slavery. The men they'll take as forced workers or outright kill, the women they'll take as slaves and the children will be sent to the empire to be raised as servants. If it were me and my daughter, helpless in our town, I'd be praying for someone to save us..."_

_Now Isara quickly opened the door and was trying to run after her parent's tank, thankfully the girl watching over her stopped her and held onto her while she struggled to break free, "Mommy! Daddy! Come back!"_

_"Theimer, my friend! Come back here, Isara needs you!" Belgen begged, his own eyes building up with tears._

_"We're the only help the Darcsen residents have Belgen," Theimer responded, his tank much further away and nearing the town limits, "The town folk will never make it if we don't fight them off. My wife and I have to go back and help as many of them get away as we can!"_

_Belgen nodded, "Then I'm coming with you, hold on dear friend!"_

_"No! Stay there, stay with my daughter!" Theimer cried, "Protect her with your life, make sure that she isn't captured or harmed in any way… promise me that you'll stay with her."_

_Belgen clenched his teeth together and squeezed his right fist together, wanting more than anything to go back and help his friend. However, he understood the sheer magnitude of the request that he had made, to protect his daughter, whom he loved more than anything in the world._

_"Alright… I'll stay…" Belgen said, "Try and make it back…"_

_Theimer's tank then re-entered the town and drove down the main road. A short while later they came to where the most of the Imperials were 5 tanks in total. 4 light tanks and one medium tank, surrounded by over 50 infantry._

_They were tending to some rounded up prisoners, dead Darcsens all around them and they were next to be executed against a wall. However, a loud blast went off and one of the Imperial tanks exploded. The Imp hunters looked over and spotted a massive, unpainted tank coming around the corner, which had its large, smoking barrel already pointed at them._

_One of the soldiers spotted the large, Darcsen pattern painted on the side of its hull, "T-tank, it's a Darcsen Tank!"_

_The medium tank fired its main turret at the Darcsen tank, but its shell slammed into the tanks front armour, bounced off and flew off to the side, exploding against a nearby brick building._

_"What the!" the commanding officer cried out in surprise at the sight that he had just witnessed. The Darcsen tank then fired again and a shell exploded next to the medium tank, rocking it to the side slightly._

_"Battle positions!" the officer ordered and the tanks began to move, the soldiers running to find cover and return fire against the large tank._

_Suddenly, a loud speaker attached to the outside of the Darcsen tank rang out, "All Darcsen's in the area, Evacuate the area, we'll handle the Imperials and give you the time you need to escape!"_

_A second later, other Darcsen citizens began to exit the nearby buildings and run for their lives, down either side of the main street, while the Darcsen tank drove down the middle of the street, charging towards the Imperials._

_"Full speed ahead, get us between them and the other Darcsen residents." Theimer ordered, looking through the firing scope at the massed bunch of Imperial soldiers and tanks._

_One of the light tanks fired off a shot that exploded next to their own tank, rocking it to the left. Isana looked back at her husband, "We can't stand toe to toe against this many Imperial tanks and soldiers!"_

_"Keep going, blast right past them if you can, lure them to the northern side of town." Theimer ordered._

_Isana nodded, understanding her husbands plan, "Most of the town folk are gone from the northern side, and it'll just be us and them mostly…"_

_Isana then slammed on the accelerator and continued on, their tank getting hit by shells and anti-tank lancer rounds from the infantry the whole way. Thankfully the damage wasn't too significant and they made it past and continued on, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake as they sped past._

_"So fast…" the Imperial tank commander said, "All units, we've stumbled upon something far more interesting than a few dark-haired slaves. After that tank, I want that tank!"_

_The tanks then turned and began to follow the Darcsen tank, the soldiers now ignoring the rest of the Darcsen prisoners they had and began full pursuit of the Darcsen tank on foot and by tank, jeep and motorcycle._

_Theimer's tank then came to a halt, outside of the warehouse where the tanks were created and turned 180 degrees and looked through his firing scope. Spotting the numerous Imperials coming towards them, some of the tanks split up and took different roads, to flank them from the sides._

_Theimer and Isana took a few deep, terrified breaths and waited for the Imperials to come. Theimer then reached up and activated his headset, "Belgen, dear friend… should anything happen to us, I want you to take care of my daughter… understood?"_

_Theimers' radio then crackled before it came back with a response, "What are you talking about?"_

_Before Theimer could respond, a tank shell hit them, full frontal and exploded, rocking the tank, "They're after us now and I won't let them take this tank!" he then looked through the scope, "Ready… fire!" and the massive tank fired a shell, which his another one of the tanks and destroyed it. However, they were hit in the side by a lance round and caused some damage to its less protected side hull. Isana backed up, narrowly avoiding another flying lance round that missed them by inches._

_Unfortunately, a lancer riding on the back of a motorcycle with a shock trooper place a round right in their radiator, and caused significant damage as sparks flew from the control panels inside the tank. The rear radiators began spewing black smoke and sparks, more tank rounds from both sides slammed into Theimers tank, damaging it even more._

_"We won't last long against this!" Isana shouted over the explosions._

_Theimer nodded, "I know… back up into the warehouse, I have an idea…" Isana already knew what it was, but she began to turn the tank and begin backing it up into the warehouse. It was lurching back and forth, groaning and grinding loudly in distress; it was badly damaged and didn't have much fight left in it._

_A well placed tank round them hit the tank and exploded near the barrel and cracked it, now they could no longer fire anymore shells. The tank commander noticed this as well and lowered his binoculars with an evil grin._

_"Cease fire!" he ordered, "We've disarmed the tank and it's not going anywhere now, move in and secure that tank, NOW!"_

_Theimer's tank then crashed into the rear wall of the warehouse and broke part ways through before coming to its final resting place within the warehouse. Theimer sighed, so did his wife, and she left the controls and moved back and sat next to her husband._

_"Belgen, Belgen dear friend… is my daughter nearby?" he asked._

* * *

_On the outskirts of town, the flow of residents evacuating the town had slowed and only the odd car or running stragglers were left escaping from the town, most of the residents had made it safely out and weren't being pursued anymore._

_Meanwhile, the girl assigned to Isara was lifting her up and handing Isara to Belgen who was still looking out at the city with half of his body sticking out from the turret hatch, he then quickly took off his headset and put it over Isara's ears._

_"Daddy?"_

_Belgen chuckled, "Thank goodness you're safe… it's so good to hear your voice…"_

_Isara began to cry, "Come back Daddy, you have to come back here!" she sobbed._

_Theimer began to cry, so did his wife as he held onto her, Theimer passed the headset to his wife while he looked through his scope and spotted the Imperial tanks moving into position to block the tank and keep it from escaping through the front doors once again. While the soldiers were cautiously entering the warehouse, guns raised and slowly approaching the tank._

_"Isara… sweetie… we're not going to be able to be there for you anymore…" Isana cried with tears flowing down her cheeks, "Uncle Belgen is going to take care of you from now on… be a good girl and listen to him from now on."_

_"Mommy… I don't understand!" Isara wailed, "You promised that we would be a family again, you promised that you would be there for me!"_

_"I'm so sorry that I have to break them… I would never break my word to you for any reason other than this…"_

_"Mommy…"_

_"Wear that Shawl Isara… always. Wear that shawl to remember us by and to know that we'll always love you." Isana went on, crying hard._

_Isana then passed the radio back to Theimer, grabbed him and sobbed against his shoulder._

_"Isara… I love you…. Daddy loves you, mommy loves you…." Theimer said._

_There was now the sounds of the Imperial soldiers climbing up their tank, some were already trying to open the sealed hatch. One soldier who was moving to the side of the tank, covering the side happened to looked down at his boot, spotting some blue liquid wrapping around his boot in a small stream. He looked to his right and saw even more fluid oozing out from behind the tank. Cautiously, he moved back and peered around the tank and saw that they had smashed the entire rear of the tank into a back room that housed dozens of drums of Ragnoline fuel and spare tank shells and tank mortar rounds._

_Theimer then lifted up the detonator and held it out, his wife grasping it as well; they both looked at each other and nodded their head. Theimer and Isana then spoke one final message to their darling daughter._

* * *

_Isara meanwhile was still crying and being held by Belgen, then she heard the radio crackle once more._

_"Isara, can you hear us?" Theimer and Isana's voice's said in unison._

_Isara quickly replied, "Yes mommy, daddy, I can hear you!"_

_"Isara… we love you so much… we lov-"_

_The radio turned to static, a split second later a massive explosion went off in the center of town, causing a giant mushroom cloud of black smoke and fire to raise high above the building tops. It even went higher than the 60 foot high chapel tower and continued on. The explosion was so loud and violent that the initial blast wave hit Isara and Belgen like a punch to the chest, followed by a boom so loud it caused their ears to ring._

_Once Isara and Belgen recovered, they looked back to the center of town and saw that numerous blocks within the radius of the massive explosion were destroyed. All of the Imperials had been killed and didn't get their hands on the proto-type tank, nearly all of the town folk had evacuated and most of all Isara was safe, at the cost of Theimer and Isana's lives. But it was a noble sacrifice, with hundreds of Darcsen lives and the life of their only daughter saved by these two brave individuals._

_Isara dropped the radio and began to shake her head, "No… no, no, no, no, no! Mommy! Daddy!" Isara wailed in anguish. Belgen pulled her close and lowered his head, mourning the loss of his best friend. Isara brought the shawl up to her eyes and began weeping into the soft material; sadly, it still smelled of her mother._

* * *

"That's how you came to live here with me Isara…" Belgen explained, finally finishing his story.

11 year old Isara was already crying and had gotten up from Belgen's leg and walked away and stood next to the blue, red and white painted tank, placing her hand against its cold metal hull.

"Now I remember… I remember it all," Isara stated, "I must have repressed that sad memory so long ago…"

Belgen nodded and walked up and stood next to Isara, also placing his hand against the tanks hull. "This is the first time I've had company in here," he admitted, "I come in here a lot… to remember my past mistakes… and I've made so many of them."

Isara nodded, "My worst mistake… was allowing your mother and father to sacrifice their own lives to save your's and everyone else's," Belgen confessed, "I should have been the one to go back and do what I could that day… sacrifice my own life if needed, like they did."

Isara was now crying harder, so Belgen reached over and pulled her close, letting her cry against him, "It's ok Isara… it's ok to cry and be sad."

Isara shook her head, "I'm not sad… I'm happy, to finally know the truth about what happened to my parents," Isara said, "I'm the daughter of true heroes… how can I be sad about that and the way they died? I'm… not even sad that they went and left me all alone, because it brought me to you and my dear brother Welkin."

Two tears fell from Belgen's eyes and he bent down and hugged Isara, "You are wise far beyond your years Isara. Nothing less than I'd expect from the daughter of the brilliant mechanics Theimer and Isana."

Isara then let go of Belgen, and looked back up at the tank, knowing that her parents were the one's who helped build it and was filled with the greatest sense of pride. Belgen then sighed happily, "I've never touched this tank since I brought it back here with you, and I've also never let anyone touch it." Belgen explained, "I think that only family should be the one's to fix it, so if you wish, I'll en-roll you into a fine engineering course that I know of, so you can one day become and mechanic and restore this tank to it's former glory."

Isara picked up a nearby wrench, held onto it and turned back to Belgen with an ear to ear grin, even with tears in her eyes she happy exclaimed, "I'd love to!"

* * *

_**Hello Readers, Snowman here. This is my 1st attempt at a one hitter, dealing with Isara Gunther's past and details of her Father Theimer. It said that he 'designed' the tank in EW1, but never built it. I had him build it in secret with Belgen a few years later in their home town, to show to the military. Also, this is what I love about Valkyria Chronicles fanfiction, there are so few lines describing the characters, so that leaves INFINITE possibilites to write about any character.**_

_**So this is my one hitter, the back story of her mother and father and how Isara came to be with the Gunthers. I noticed from the anime, episode 19 that Isara was older, probably around 6, 7 or 8 when she went to live with the Welkin and Belgen Gunther. I had this as my backstory of what happened before she came. I think it works, it's definately sad... I wrote the darn thing and I cried.**_

_**This whole idea just HIT me at work today, I was working, thinking of writing this and thought... wow, this could work! So as soon as I got home at 9:30 I started writing, it's 3:30 now and it's completed... what did ya think :P**_


	2. Marina Wulfstan: Not all is as it seems

**Marina Wulfstan: Not all is as it seems**...

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Squad 7 was on a much deserved respite, along with the other squads. The Imperials had all seemed to pull back from inner Gallia. The only thing the Sevens or other squads knew was that in a few days time, they would all head to the plains of Naggiar. But until that time, no training was scheduled, no missions to be undertaken and there was really nothing that needed to be done by the Sevens.

Sadly, the weather that day wasn't very good. It was dark, gloomy and rain was falling from the heavens. That being so, most of the Sevens were in their large, warm, comfy barracks. Card games were going on between squad mates. Members were talking to one another and there was a lot of laughter, chatter and good mingling going on.

Except for one member of the squad. This particular girl was sitting on a window sill, head against the glass as droplets pattered softly against it. Unlike the other members, there was never a smile on her face, she never 'mingled' with anyone and spent the vast majority of her time alone. Her hair was long and black as night and no one had ever seen the full features of her face. Her hair was so long in the front that it concealed nearly all of her face from view, except for one single, but beautiful violet coloured eye. That girl was Marina Wulfstan.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the barracks, standing near his bedpost was the squad clown, Ted Ustinov. He was looking at Marina so intently that he actually jumped and screamed in surprise when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist.

"Hello! My Teddy Bear!" Aika Thompson squealed in delight as she hugged Ted.

"Oh my… Aika! Don't do that so suddenly!" Ted complained. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Aika giggled and pinched Ted's nose and then proceeded to hug him even tighter, rubbing her head against his chest at the same time. "Tee-hee! It's not my fault that you're so damn cuddly! It really does your name well, Teddy bear."

"Well… when you put it that way… how can I stay mad at you." Ted chuckled.

Aika giggled, "You couldn't if you tried!"

Aika then let go of Ted, but still wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "So… whatcha looking at?" she asked. "You seemed pretty distracted by something when I was sneaking up on you."

Ted sighed, "Nothing…" he said. Though his eyes gave him away, they were still focused on Marina, in the corner of the barracks.

"Oh… I get it!" Aika said with a wink and a nudge of her elbow. "Still crushing on Marina over there eh?"

Ted blushed then shook his head, "No! No! Nothing like that!" Ted stammered.

"Didn't your Mother ever tell you that it's not nice to lie to girls?" Aika said, giving Ted a soft punch in the arm.

Ted rubbed his arm, "I forgot… I can never hide anything from you, Aika. No one can!"

"But, there is something else…" Ted continued, looking back at Marina once again. "Yes… I do like her… a little. But there's just something about her that's… odd. She never smiles, never laughs at my jokes or antics. She spends all her time alone… why?"

Finally, Aika got serious and she sat on Ted's bed and looked over at Marina, "Yeah… I know what you mean," Aika said worriedly. "She's always so quiet and… I don't know… if you've ever looked at her when she doesn't know that you're there, she… just looks so sad all the time…"

"Yeah… I've noticed that too," said Ted. "You know what, I'm going to go over there and see if she's up for talking or a game of cards or whatever."

Aika cringed, remembering how Marina always responded to an invite of any kind, badly. "Alright… good luck Teddy bear… don't get killed or anything."

* * *

Ted then strolled over to Marina, but even after he reached her, she continued to look out the window. Ted held his arms behind his back and thought of what to say.

"Hey Marina… good to see you again!" Ted said cheerfully.

"…It's not like I went anywhere…" Marina responded coldly, never looking at Ted as she said that.

Ted chuckled and was about to pat Marina on the shoulder while saying "Ha-ha! I know, I'm just jok-"

"If you value the use of your hand and fingers, you'll keep your hand away from me at all times…" Marina warned, even colder than before.

Ted swallowed hard and clenched his hand together and pulled it away slowly, shaking slightly in fear. "Sorry, was just trying to be friendly. You look like you could use a friend."

"I don't." Marina replied. "All I wish... is to be left alone."

This was the time when Ted usually backed off, but tonight. He was determined to get through to her for once. "…No…" Ted replied.

Now Marina's head turned to Ted, giving him one of her icy cold glares, the ones that could freeze even the bravest mans heart. But Ted stood his ground, "I'm not leaving…"

Suddenly, it was as if someone flipped a switch and the whole room became dead quiet. All heads were turned to Marina and Ted. Now, Marina very slowly stood up, she was slightly taller than Ted, but even those few inches that she stood above him, glaring down at him added to her intimidation factor.

Then, without breaking eye contact with Ted, she said loud enough to be heard by everyone, "Anyone who wants to live, leave… now!"

The Sevens then bolted out of there, some jumping over tables. The ones playing cards quickly gathered their winnings and followed the other Sevens out of the two exits on either side of the barracks as they scrambled out of there. All except Ted, now he even crossed his arms as he looked up into Marina's one glaring eye. "Do what you will… I'm not leaving until we've had a proper discussion for once."

Marina's glare then disappeared and she slowly turned and walked back to the window, and with her back to him, she said softly, "What do you want to know…"

Ted then smiled a little before walking to Marina and standing just behind her, "I guess what I want to know is… why are you the way you are?"

"Meaning?" Marina asked.

"I don't know… you always want to be alone, you never attend parties or talk to anyone. Also, you never, ever let anyone touch you…"

Marina nodded, and then Ted added. "But most of all… you always look so sad all the time…"

"The answer to all your questions… comes from the experiences I had at home… terrible experiences." Marina said, for the first time, there was some sound of fear in her voice. Now, she was visibly trembling, almost as if shivering as her shoulders shook.

She then placed her head against the glass; with her un-gloved hand she pressed her fingers nails against the glass, "The pain… The horror of it all." she said, running her hand down the glass, causing an ear splitting screech to ring out as her nails dragged across the pane of glass. "Having my hair pulled… being strangled… hit, kicked, tormented every single day of my life… it was maddening!"

Now Ted looked down at the ground in shame, he had forced the issue, one that clearly disturbed Marina. "I'm sorry to hear that…"

Marina then turned to Ted, looking down at the ground, "But that's not the worst of it… this… is the worst of it…" Marina said, bringing her hand up to her face, underneath all her black hair and brushing it aside.

Ted gasped loudly, what he saw shocked him. Her right eye was normal, like any other persons eye. But the left one was closed and had a long jagged scar that ran from just under her eye, over the eyelid and all the way up to her forehead.

"Because of life in that home… my beauty was forever ruined… my face scarred for the rest of my life!"

"Oh Marina, I'm so sorry to hear… that you were abused so badly at home. It really does explain a lot though…"

"What!" Marina asked in bewilderment, removing her hand from her face, her hair falling back into place, "What are you talking about? My family never 'abused' me in my entire life. Where'd you get that idea from?"

Now Ted was confused, "B-but you just said… that you had your hair pulled, that you were strangled and hit and tormented all the time."

"No, it's not what you think," said Marina. "You've got the whole idea wrong…"

* * *

_Marina, Age 10_

_"Mari! Come here my beloved Mari!" Victoria Wulfstan called out as she wandered through the house, "If you won't come out, then I'm going to have to come and find you!"_

_Young Marina hid inside her giant doll house, knees tucked up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs. Her mother then entered her room, "Come out! Come out! Where ever you are!" her mother said giddily. But this was no game of hide and seeks; Marina was genuinely trying to hide._

_"Well Gee… I guess she's not in here," Her mother said sarcastically. She then ran up to Marina's doll house, opened it up in a flash and pulled Marina out. "I got you! Waahh!" she screamed as she hugged Marina, nearly to death and shook her._

_"No! No~!" Marina screamed, once again being smothered by her extremely over affectionate mother._

* * *

_Marina, Age 12_

_Marina was at the back of the family Cabin. Shooting targets with her Father, Murdock Wulfstan. So far she had hit nearly all the targets with her small .22 calibre rifle, simple paper targets._

_"Excellent Mari! Just excellent!" Murdock praised, rubbing his daughters head hard with his rough gloved hand. It was something he did constantly, no matter what they were doing._

_Annoyed, Marina then next missed, on purpose and struck a tree in the background._

_"Oh dear Mari… that's not where the target is," he said with a long, bold laugh. Once again rubbing his hand on top of his daughters head, messing her hair up even further._

_Marina waited for a while, but nothing happened. So she shouted, "Well Father… I missed! What do you think of that? Aren't you going to get mad at me? Aren't you going to scold me?"_

_Murdock smiled brightly, grabbed little Marina in a headlock and gave her a noggie. "Scold you? What in the world makes you think I would ever do that? Hahaha! It's true that you missed, but I guess we'll just have to try harder next time won't we ha-ha!"_

_"Ugh…" Marina said; face palming herself in disgust after she was left go._

_"Honey! Mari! Time for supper!" Victoria called from the doorway. Just then, two smaller children ran past her and charged towards Marina._

_"Mar-Mar! Supper!" one little boy, Adam Wulfstan, age 7, shouted._

_"Heehee, Come on Mar-Mar! Come eat!" a ttle girl, Megan Wulfstan, also age 7, giggled._

_Marina gasped as they were both about to tackle her, but Murdock stepped in front of them and said "Whoa,Whoa little one's! I'll not have you tackle Mari just now!"_

_"Awww…" They both groaned sadly. Marina then breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she felt her rifle being pulled out of her hands._

_"Alright, Guns on safety and away from Mari, now you can tackle her!" Murdock laughed._

_"YAY~!" And both Adam and Megan tackled Marina and began to tickle her while her mother and father laughed out loud at the spectacle._

_"No! NO~!" Marina screamed._

* * *

_Marina, age 15_

_Marina was at the dining table, finishing up some homework during the evening. Just then, she felt her arm being tugged. She looked over, annoyed and saw Megan, her little sister._

_"Come on Mar-Mar! Let's play!"_

_Adam then began tugging on her other arm, "Yeah, come and play with us!"_

_"I can't! I'm doing my homework!" Marina protested, trying to break away from them. But they then began to climb on top of her, clawing at her long black hair, hugging, squeezing and laughing out loud._

_"Play with us!" They shouted in unison._

_"NO~!" Marina screamed._

_Just then, "Shh… Mari, you'll wake the baby." Her mother said, softly rocking their small baby daughter, yet another addition to the loving family. But the baby was awoken anyway and began to cry loudly._

_Marina put her hands over her ears, "Oh… I can't stand crying babies!"_

_"Now, Now Mari! Be nice to your baby sister," Victoria said with a smile. "You know what; I think you're old enough to hold her now."_

_"What! No! I don't want to!" Marina protested._

_"Oh come on, it'll be a nice bonding moment for you two," her mother said and with that she softly passed Melissa, her new baby daughter to Marina._

_Marina rolled her eyes as she held onto her, but to everyone's surprise, the baby was laughing and cooing softly now. Then, the most unexpected thing, "Mar-Mar!" Melissa's first word._

_"Oh! Murdock! Honey! Come quickly!" Victoria called out._

_And her father came bolting in from outside, "What is it! What happened?"_

_"Daddy! Melissa said her first word!" Megan announced_

_"Yeah, she did! Watch! She'll do it again!" Adam said happily._

_Everyone silently watched as Melissa looked up at her big sister, giggled and said "Mar-Mar!" once again to Marina. Next, she reached out with her little hand and grabbed some of Marina's long black hair and tugged on it in perfect unison with "Mar-Mar! Mar-Mar! Ahahaha!"_

_The family then got together in a big, warm, family hug and laughed together. All except Marina, who released yet another "No~!" Then, "I can't be her first word! I don't want to be called that by yet another of my siblings! It's so unfair!"_

* * *

_Marina Age 19_

_It was very early in the morning. The house was quiet, and hopefully the family would still be sleeping, or so Marina hoped as she snuck down to the front door. Carefully, she slipped on her boots, jacket and was about to head out the door, when she suddenly felt something grab her by the leg. She looked down and saw Melissa, her little sister clinging onto her leg._

_"Mar-Mar! Where go Mar-Mar?" she asked, maintaining a tight grip on her big sisters leg._

_Marina sighed, "Nowhere... I'm just going out for a walk… alone." Marina said, bending down and trying to pry her clingy little sister off of her leg. But each time she pried off one hand, Melissa quickly moved it and held onto another part of her leg. Then, once Marina was able to finally get her little sister off her leg, Melissa reached up and grabbed Marina by her long hair and pulled. "OUCH~!" Marina screamed, "Let go! I have to go now!"_

_"Well take your little brother and sister out with you." Victoria said. The noise had woken her up, as well as her hyper little brother and sister._

_"Aww! Come on Mom!" Marina protested. "I'm with you guys all day, everyday! Can't I just have one day, one moment to myself!"_

_"Now Marina, you are their big sister. And I trust you with them, so take them out and play outside. Or better yet, take them with you on your hike today. I think they're old enough to venture into the mountains with you now."_

_"But Mother!"_

_"No buts! Listen to your mother," Victoria sternly, then she went back to smiling. She then scopped Melissa up and then left to feed her in the kitchen._

_"Come on Mar-Mar, let's go!" Adam said, tugging on his boots and jacket._

_"Yay! I've always wanted to go hiking with my big sister! All the way up in the mountains even!" Megan said happily._

_Marina just shook her head, "Come on then… I suppose."_

_A short while into their hike, they were nearing the top of the nearest mountain to their home, by way of a long, winding hiking trail. Yet all the way through the hike, Adam and Megan each held onto one of Marina's hands and skipped nearly the whole way, laughing the whole time. The noise they were making were scaring all the birds away as they took to the skies. Any wildlife that Marina might have seen were probably scared off as well, not surprising, considering how loud her siblings were being._

_Finally, unable to take it anymore, Marina threw both of their hands away from herself and stomped in front of the both of them. "I've had it!" Marina screamed, "Damn it! …Why can't any of you just leave me alone for a day, just one day! Without all of the hugging and kissing and grabbing and clinging and laughing and screaming… why! Why can't you all just let me have time to myself! Is that too much to ask for!"_

_Her screams echoed across the mountain side, then moments later, was followed by two screaming, crying kids. Marina's words had hurt them and they were definitely showing it, "Wah! Why are you so mean, Mar-Mar?" Megan sobbed, rubbing her eyes._

_Marina shook her head and was about to respond when suddenly, from behind them came a blood curdling 'Roar!' The kids gasped, Marina whipped around and they all came face to face with a roaring, salivating Grizzly bear on its hind legs. Kids being kids, Adam and Megan turned and ran… bad idea. The bear then landed back on all fours and went charging after them, Marina had no choice but to turn and run as well._

_All the way the kids were screaming, "Mommy! Daddy! Help!"_

_The kids scrambled over a fallen tree, Marina jumped over as well, but her foot got caught in a tree branch as she jumped and she fell onto her stomach on the other side of the tree. But for some reason, the bear climbed over the tree and landed on the ground, just past Marina and continued on after her siblings. Maybe it hadn't noticed Marina, hidden behind the tree after she had fallen._

_"No! Adam! Megan!" Marina screamed at their retreating forms, the bear not far behind them._

_Marina quickly looked around, finding the largest stick she could find, she picked it up, as well as a handful of rocks and went after them. Unable to outrun the bear, the kids thought it was a good idea to climb the nearest tree and began to do so. However, the tree was small enough that once the bear reached it, it rose to its hind legs and began to rock the tree back and forth, Adam and Megan screaming loudly from up high._

_Just then, the bear was struck in the back of the head by a flying rock, thrown by Marina. The bear looked back angrily. Marina was then tapping a nearby tree loudly, waving one of her hands, "Here! I'm here! Come and get me! Leave my family alone!"_

_The bear snarled and roared angrily and began to lumber towards Marina, who was hiding behind a tree. She wasn't sure what she'd do next, but she had gotten the bears attention away from her little brother and sister. As the bear got closer, she moved around the tree, leaving the bear on the other side as she moved around and hid on the opposite side of the tree. It was all she could do, she had not real weapons to fight a full grown grizzly. She did her best to keep it's teeth and claws away from herself and on the other side of the tree, desperatly thinking of what to do next._

_This only angered the bear more and it reached around with one of its enormous paws and slashed its claws against the side of the tree, leaving four deep cuts down the side of the tree from its claws. Though Marina was unhurt this time and managed to avoid being slashed by only a few inches. Sadly the next time she wasn't so lucky. The bear reached around the tree and with another swipe of its mighty claws, three of its large claws scrapped against the side of the tree, but one caught Marina on the side of the face as she was looking around the wide tree. It cut deep, all the way from her forehead, over her eye and part way down her cheek and Marina fell onto her back, held her face in her hands and shrieked loudly in pain._

_"Marina!" Adam and Megan screamed, it was the first time they had ever called her by her true first name, Marina. Not 'Mar-Mar' or Mari, just... Marina. With her only good eye left, Marina looked over at them, up in the tree and despite all the pain, smiled gratefully to them. She then closed her eyes as the bear came all the way around, and got ready to swipe a killing blow down onto the helpless Marina Wulfstan._

_But two loud echoing gunshots halted the bear dead in its tracks and it roared in pain. Two more gunshots dropped it to the ground, dead. Marina and her little brother and sister looked back and saw both Mom and Dad with hunting rifles in their hands. They had heard the screams of their children and rushed to save them and did so just in the nick of time for Marina._

_Victoria and Murdock Wulfstan ran to Marina's side and cradled her together in their arms, "Oh no… Marina… your eye!" Victoria said, holding a very trembling hand against Marina's left cheek, cut deep and bleeding. The injury was horrific, not only to her cheek and forehead, but to her left eye itself._

_"We've got to get her to a hospital!" Murdock cried, handing his rifle to his wife and with superhuman strength, he picked Marina up and for as old as he was, ran all the way down the mountain with her in his arms. Though Marina fell into unconsciousness before they reached the bottom._

* * *

_The next thing Marina knew, she was waking up in a white hospital room. She was laying in a white bed, covered in white sheets. Her mother and father to were sittint together to her left and Marina now had bandages over her left eye, her cheek and forehead were already tended to as well._

_"Marina… are you alright?" her mother asked._

_Marina must have been given pain medication, she felt woozy, but she managed to nod and smile a slight smile._

_"Where are Adam and Megan? Are they safe?" Marina asked._

_"Thanks to you, they are!" Murdock said._

_Just then, on cue, Adam and Megan came bursting through the door, "Mar-Mar!" they cried happily, running up to Marina and hugging their big sister from either side of the bed._

_"Back to Mar-Mar?" Marina asked._

_"Yeah… if that's ok with you?" Adam asked, Megan was also waiting silently._

_"Fine, you can call me Mar-Mar if you wish, or Mari I suppose…"_

_"We're sorry about your eye, Mari…" Adam and Megan said together, "If we hadn't of been so loud, we might never have attracted that bear to us in the first place…"_

_Marina shook her head, "Don't worry about it… it's just an eye," she said. "Fortunately, all things in nature are born with two. And I'd rather lose an eye than a sibling."_

_Murdock laughed out loud, "Ha-ha! That's my Marina! My most beloved daughter!" And he instinctively rubbed the top of her head, causing her to yelp in pain. "Oh Sorry! My bad! I forgot!"_

_But Marina laughed, so did her mother and brother and sister._

* * *

_Marina, Age 24_

_"I can't believe my little Mari is all grown up and off to serve her country!" Victoria Wulfstan said as she brushed off her daughters brand new Militia Uniform as Marina stood in the doorway, dufflebag over her shoulder, ready to leave the house._

_"Yes, I know you'll do well. I've taught you everything I know Mari!" Murdock Wulfstan said, handing her, her sniper rifle that he himself went over all night to make sure it was in good working order before sending his daughter off to the Militia base._

_Marina was now sporting a new, much shorter and lighter haircut, done by her mother that was both suited for her role as a sniper and to cover up the scar she received a few years ago, protecting her siblings from a wild Grizzly bear. Once she left the house, she was going to be all on her own for the first time. No more daily hugs, kisses from her mother. Clinginess by her younger siblings and no more rubbing of her head by her father. No more babysitting her new little brother, Victor Wulfstan, a recent addition to the family 3 years ago. Thus raising the number of siblings Marina had to four now._

_Marina hugged and kissed everyone for the last time, before heading down to the town to board the bus to the militia base. That day, she made a vow, a personal promise._

_"This is my time! My own time to be alone whenever I want! A time when I will never be touched, prodded or held by anyone… and I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep that new found solitude that I've earned after all these years in that home!"_

_From that day on, Marina kept to herself, avoiding human contact whenever she could and absolutely despising anyone attempting to befriend her or get her to join in on the fun. Not because she hated people, but because for once in her life, she did not have to worry about being hugged, kissed, held, having her hair pulled by her younger siblings and never have to listen to the constant nagging to come play or have fun. Her time in the militia was for once in her life, her own time._

* * *

"Wait a minute…" said Ted after Marina finished her story. "Are you yanking my chain? Did all that stuff really happen?"

"Yes… why would I lie about something like that?"

"I don't know... I just assumed that with the way you've been acting that… something bad must have happened in your life to make you the way you are. But it sounds like you had a very good life at home before you came here..."

"That may be… but I bet you've never had to live with so many other siblings, constantly nagging you and messing with you and interrupting your whole life to fulfill their needs! Being smothered with love day in and day out all through your life by over affectionate parents, am I right?"

"No, I've never had to deal with that."

"So you see, that's what all of this is," said Marina. "I'm finally away from my over affectionate family and on my own for once. So after years of affection, I want, just once, to live one year without any kind of love or affection what-so-ever. Because once this war is over, I'm going to have to go back home to all of that… But until then… Leave. Me. Alone!"

"Alright, I suppose that's only fair…" said Ted.

But as soon as he finished that sentence, the doors to the barracks came swinging open and there stood a sight that made Marina shriek in absolute terror.

"MARI!" Murdock and Victoria Wulfstan cried.

"Mar-Mar!" Adam, Megan and Melissa shouted in joy.

"Mar-Bear!" Little Victor screamed.

"OH NO~!" Marina Shrieked, "I thought we had a deal! You weren't supposed to come and see me ever! Not until the war was finished!"

Then, all at once, the whole family cried, "But we MISSED YOU!" and they all came charging across the barracks, even trampling over poor Ted who was in the way, between them and their Marina.

Marina turned and tried to run but was tackled by Adam and Megan and as Ted was slowly recovering from the trampling and sitting up he heard Marina scream, "No! What are you doing! Hey! Don't touch me there! I don't want to wear it! NO~!"

As Ted sat up and looked toward Marina, he saw her wearing a large, wool, blue and white knit sweater. With a picture of a big brown bear on it.

"Oh! It fits! How wonderful!" Victoria Wulfstan squealed. "It's getting colder now, so I knit this, just for you, my little Mari-Wari!"

"We bought you some fresh baked muffins on the way here from Randgriz!" Adam said, taking a single muffin out of the batch, "Eat them! Eat them!" And without even waiting, he pushed it towards her mouth and tried to make her eat it.

"I picked out the juice!" Megan said, handing Marina a juice box.

"Oh it's so good to have the whole family back together again Hahahaha!" Murdock bellowed with laughter.

"Oh man… I had her figured SO wrong!" Ted laughed. "But still… I can see now why she despises human contact and wants to isolate herself… I would to, if that were my family."

"No~! Wake me up! This can't be real! It's a nightmare!" Marina screamed.

* * *

"AAHH~!" Ted screamed as he bolted upright in a strange bed.

"Whoa boy! Take it easy!" Freesia said, rushing up to Ted and pushing him back into bed.

"Don't overdo it, Teddy bear." Aika laughed, "I think you still need quite a bit of rest before you're ready to move around again."

"I'll say, but it's good that your skin color has returned to normal," said Vyse, sitting next to Aika.

"Yeah! You turned redder than an Imperial aces armour, Ted!" Melvin laughed.

"I did what?" Ted asked, now noticing how sick and tired he really felt.

Freesia dug her foot into the ground and laughed nervously, "Sorry Ted, I guess you really weren't ready for my Blazing Hot Barious Bean Chilli, made with wild beans and spices from the Barious desert and my home village, also in the Barious region," she said. "But you said you could handle it, I guess it was all too much for you."

Edy Nelson laughed, "Once that Chilli hit your mouth, you turned beat Red, got up from the table, ran across the room and slammed your poor head right into one of our bunks. You've been out cold since, thrashing around in your sleep, sweating profusely and muttering… certain stuff."

"Hehe yes Lad, it's true. All of it was about Marina!" Catherine O'Hara said with a wink.

"What?" Ted asked, "Marina… oh man Marina!"

Then, before anyone could stop him, Ted jumped out of bed and ran past all of his friends crowded around his bed. He then ran back to the barracks and burst through the doors; he looked around for a bit and saw Marina, sitting at one of the tables, cleaning her sniper rifle. He then ran up to her and without even thinking, grabbed her and raised her to her feet.

"Hey! What the hell!" Marina cried.

"Marina! I just had the weirdest dream about you, but somehow it all makes sense now!"

"What dream…? Better not have been dirty dreams!" Marina said in disgust, she then looked down at her arms, being held by Ted. "Take your hands off of me!"

"I know! You don't like to be held because of your over affectionate family back home right?"

"What?" Marina asked in surprise. "My what?"

"You know! Your parents who hug and kiss you all the time and your clingy siblings!"

"I don't have any siblings… I never did."

"You weren't showered with affection by your family, thus explaining your extreme need for isolation and no affection from anyone else?" Ted ask quickly in nearly one breath of air.

"Boy, I think you've hit your head harder than we thought! You're talking all sorts of non-sense..."

Ted was in disbelief, all that was once explained was now turning out to be untrue. All of it was just a result of eating Freesia's extremely spicy Chilli and being knocked into a wild fever dream.

"No… all that couldn't have been a dream, it all made sense when I heard it!" Ted said, and then an idea came to him. "Wait! I know, what about your eye!"

"My eye?" Marina asked.

Ted then grabbed her cheek and with his other hand, he immediately brushed aside her long black hair. But he was extremely surprised to see another identical violet coloured eye beneath all that hair of hers. No damage to her face, no scar where there was one in his dream. There was nothing, her left eye was in just as good of condition as her right eye was. Now his explanation as to why she kept her face covered all the time was also gone, another untrue result from his fever dream.

"Hey! Don't touch my face! BACK OFF!" Marina screamed, she then wound up and punched Ted right across the cheek, sending him directly onto his back. "Let's see if that'll knock some sense back into you!"

Marina then stormed out of the barracks, holding her fist in her other hand, teeth clenched together and breathing in and out angrily.

Ted's cheek was red and throbbing in pain, his eyes glistening with tears of frustration and embarrasment. "No… the answers… I had all the answers… now I'll never know what happened to her or why she is the way she is!" Ted said in sadness, crying tears of frustration. All of it was just a cruel, misunderstanding, fuelled by Freesia's deadly hot Barious region Chilli.

* * *

**_First off a GREAT big Thank you to Huhn for this very idea. We discussed it last night; I'm sure that we all assume that Marina is the way she is BECAUSE it has to have been from bad experiences at home, a rouge upbringing, abusive parents, whatever. BUT... what if it wasn't :P What if it was the exact opposite of what we've all been thinking of when we look at Marina. Not abused, neglected, tormented, left behind, whatever. But coming from a very very over affectionate, very big family._**

**_Anways! I hope you all Enjoyed this, it was just a silly idea that came from 2 authors randomly discussing Marina Wulfstan stuff. As always, Read and Review, tell me what you think. But most of all, enjoy the silliness that comes from the two authors Snowman and Huhn. Lol, I had fun writing this._**


	3. RamonaNils: Date from Hell!

**Ramona Linton+Nils Daerden: Date from hell**!

It was a cold, windy, miserable day, sometime well past noon. The skies above were dark and clouded, rain fell from the heavens and no light from the sun was cast on the forest's of Kloden, Gallia's dense woodlands. These woods were said to be impenetrable to man or machine and only the beasts of the woods roamed these lands freely. That however was not entirely true, as dense as the woods were; one man and plenty of women of the Gallian militia could get through these woods with great swiftness.

The density or closeness of the trees hampered the progress of their pursuers, Imperial soldiers of the Eastern Empire that was currently invading their homeland of Gallia. Thankfully, the part about the forest being impenetrable to machine proved to be a life saver, just moments ago, the Gallian women and their male companion darted into the woods after being cut off while on patrol. Hot on their tails were two tanks, a half-track full of soldiers and a jeep carrying more soldiers and an officer dressed in black. All had to stop upon reaching the forests edge, the trees were too close together, the ground uneven and rocky and the rain didn't help with the vehicles tires.

The Imps were in the process of getting out of their vehicles, to pursue the Gallians and deal a strike back at the squad they were from, the infamous Squad Seven of the Gallian militia. The Imperials wanted blood, revenge, a chance to deal what damage they could and deal a crippling blow to the Seven's. If they lost this many soldiers at once, it surely would lower Squad Sevens moral greatly. They would hunt down the women and the one man with them, no matter how long it took; how far into the woods they needed to chase them or however much man power was needed to get the job done. So they continued their pursuit of the many female soldiers who were lead by one man.

* * *

That man however was Nils Daerden, his company were Cherry, Dorothy and Ramona Linton, and all were from Squad Seven. This would prove to be very troublesome, for Nils in all accounts was someone who in a word '**_despised_**' the company of women. Many girls thought him to be tall, dark and handsome. He on the other hand, found them to be annoying, weak and a pain in his side.

Despite feeling that way, he was carrying a girl on his very shoulder at the moment. A trembling, blushing girl with short hair, pulled back into a small bun. Behind him, a blonde haired girl and a reddish/brown haired girl were struggling to carry Nils's massive anti-tank lance. Both were scouts and unaccustomed to carrying such a heavy weapon. Not to mention both were tiny in comparison to the muscular, burly lancer Nils Daerden.

After some more running, the girls who were carrying Nils's lancer were huffing and puffing from exhaustion. Nils, who was carrying a girl on his shoulder, heard them and they stopped for a moment to rest and catch their breath. Nils abruptly set the injured girl down on top of a pile of moss under a tall tree.

"Ouch~!" Dorothy cried, "That hurt my… my… butt you know!"

Nils placed his hands against his back and leaned backwards to stretch out his back muscles, "Hmph! It's your ankle that's injured, not your behind, so quit complaining!"

"Hey! You could at least TRY to be nice for once you big hulking lug!" Ramona shot back.

"Oh man… this is like SO the worst thing EVER~!" Cherry added.

Nils shook his head, "I'm going back to see if those imps are still chasing us…" Nils announced. Stepping around the girls and heading back the way they came, while at the same time finding a suitable tall tree to climb and search the area from up high.

The girls all crowded around together, looking back and watching Nils get higher and higher in the tree. Once they were sure that he was out of earshot they began speaking. Not before Cherry received a punch from Ramona, right in the arm.

"This is all your fault!" Ramona accused.

"Me?" Cherry growled. "I seem to recall someone wanting to get to know Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome over there and to finally get a chance to talk to him!"

"It's my fault…" Dorothy said, eyes looking down at the ground in shame.

"What?" both girls gasped. "You didn't do anything!"

"No… I did…" Dorothy added, thinking back to earlier that day.

* * *

_The squad was returning from the Barious desert after having fought a tough battle against Prince Maximilian's tank, the Batomys. They were low on ammo, had injured squad mates and were low on other provisions for the squad and were now relieved by Squads Four and Five. This allowed Squads One, Three and Seven to return to base. After travelling all day, they stopped midway from home, inside the great Kloden Wildwoods and set up camp._

_Ramona was sitting on a rock on the outskirts of the camp, looking out into the forest for a moment, and then returned to her little notebook she always kept in her scouts pouch. She was so busy flipping through the little book of hers that she didn't notice Cherry, a fellow scout, walking towards her. Not until she planted her hand on her shoulder and scared her half to death._

_"Jeez~! You! You!" Ramona cried, hand held against her fast beating heart._

_"Sorry!" Cherry apologized with a bow. "Whatcha doing out here? Supper's already being served at the mess tent as we speak."_

_Ramona sighed, "Oh, nothing really…"_

_Cherry knew there was something on her mind. "Come on Ramona! Tell me what's up?"_

_Ramona reopened her small book, "It's times like after what happened at Barious and our fight against that enormous monster machine that makes me think of how much I still have left to accomplish in life. More importantly, my short term goals, here and now."_

_Cherry nodded, "Yeah, I like so totally get what you mean…" Cherry replied. "I am glad however, that I accomplished one of my major goals… to meet THE Ramona Linton from Gallian girl magazines, to serve with her makes it so much more special!"_

_Ramona smiled, "Thanks Cherry, you cheered me up just a little bit right now."_

_"So, what else did you have on your mind?" Cherry asked._

_Ramona smiled and passed the book to Cherry, "I wanted to meet and greet all of the gorgeous hunks of Squad Seven and I almost have. But there's just one man who always eludes me, says he never has time to stop and chat…"_

_Cherry looked through the small book and saw many of the male squad member's names, not only that, there were numbers and comments next to each name._

* * *

**_Hermes Kissinger: 7/10, Good to look at, horrible to date, he never shows up!_**

**_Homer Peron: 6/10, A pessimist, not all there, guarded fiercely by Edy Nelson. Only got 1 date and that was enough… face still hurts from that punch delivered by Edy for messing around with her 'Homie'._**

**_Noce Wordsworth: 8/10, Very cute, small town guy, horrible conversationalist. All he ever talked about was Alicia this and Alicia that… hello! I'm the one your on a date with!_**

**_Hector Calvey: 9/10, Best date of all, he even carried me through the rainy streets of Randgriz on our date during down time. He wouldn't let me get my feet or dress wet._**

**_Vyse Inglebard: 9/10, Would have been a perfect 10, but Aika tagged along all throughout our date, glaring at me. Think the hunks already spoken for mostly…_**

**_Alex Raymond: 7/10, Good looking, but our date was mostly him talking on and on and on about the sky and other things related to flying… not my thing._**

**_Salinas Milton: 6/10, Not bad to look at, weird obsession with tanks, that's where our date ended. I couldn't pry him away from the hanger or its tanks and was left to walk back to the barracks alone…_**

**_Next potential date: Nils Daerden! 10/10 for looks, I wonder what he's like when he's not in battle or busy and has time to chit chat and actually go out on a date with?"_**

* * *

_"Wow, you've like been on a lot of dates since you've joined up." Cherry laughed._

_Ramona nodded her head, "Nearly all of them were bad, and a lot of the guys were spoken for already. There's just something about Nils, I can tell that he's bound to be a great catch. And that body… whoa mama!"_

_Cherry chuckled, "Hehe, yeah, I like totally understand you on that part."_

_"I really need to blow off some steam, dates are always good for that," said Ramona. "Except… I don't know how many more days I'll live to see. Nearly dieing yesterday made me realize that. Not only that… I'm single! Who wants to die single…? Not me."_

_"Me neither…" Cherry added._

_"Got to be a way to get Nils attention, or even talk to him somehow." Ramona said while stroking her chin._

_Cherry thought on it as well, and then her gaze drifted down to her golden bracelet. "I've got it!" Cherry said. "I know a way we can get it so that it'll just be the three of us together!"_

_Cherry explained her plan and they both set off to find Dorothy Howard.__After a few minutes of searching they found her, sitting on a fallen tree, reading a book. Cherry and Ramona smiled and walked up to her._

* * *

_"Yo! Dorothy!" Ramona called out._

_Dorothy jumped in surprise, dropping her book. She was a very timid and shy girl, talking to people had always been a problem for her._

_"Y-y-yes?" Dorothy asked. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"_

_"What?" Cherry asked. "No no, nothing like that. We just wanted to talk… and ask you for a favour."_

_Dorothy was visibly trembling, tapping her fingers together. "F-favour… for what, why are you asking me?"_

_Ramona tilted her head, "Relax, you're not in trouble or anything."_

_"S-sorry, I'm not used to being approached like this."_

_Cherry rolled her eyes, "Anyways. You made this for me, right?" Cherry asked, pointing to her golden bracelet._

_Dorothy nodded her head, "T-that's right…"_

_"It's not the bracelet that I'm interested in, it's how extremely well you engraved my exact signature. Even with all of the fancy loops and everything!" Cherry complimented._

_"Oh… thank you. I mean, you're welcome! I mean…" Dorothy didn't finish; her cheeks were bright red from blushing._

_"So, you can copy anyone's signature and engrave it onto metal or gold?" Ramona asked next. "Oh! What about on paper? Can you do that?"_

_Dorothy didn't really like where this was going, she knew something was up. "Maybe… why?"_

_"Well, we need you to copy the lieutenants' signature onto an order for a recon patrol. That way we can show it to the guards at the camp exits and head out into the woods." Cherry explained._

_"EH! No way!" Dorothy responded loudly._

_"Come on Dorothy, be a pal. You do this for us, and we'll be sure to reward you very greatly. I heard from a reliable source that you've always wanted to open up your own jewellery store, am I right?"_

_"Huh?" Dorothy squeaked._

_"Oh yeah, Ramona and I get along pretty well with Susie Evans. And as you and everyone else know, she comes from a very, very wealthy family. If you do this favour for us, we promise; to talk to Susie and ask her if she'd be willing to fund your jewellery store at the end of the war. It'll be easy to pay her back as well, Ramona is extremely well know from her career as a model for Gallian girl Magazine!" Cherry continued. "I happen to get along with a lot of the guys in the squad. So if you do this for us, Susie will fund your jewellery shop, Ramona and I will get you loads of customers and you'll be set for life… come on, it's a fair deal isn't it? And all for one teeny, tiny little signature!"_

_Dorothy placed her hand against her chin and thought carefully, "What if I get into trouble?"_

_"Don't worry; we'll take all the blame if anything goes wrong. So it's pretty much a win, win situation for you!" Ramona added._

_Dorothy inhaled sharply and sighed slowing, "O-ok… just this once…" she said._

* * *

_A short while later, Ramona and Cherry entered Welkin Gunther's officers' tent. He was alone, going through some paperwork of some kind. Ramona quickly approached his table and sat on it and turned sideways, crossing one leg high over her thigh and smiled down at him. Cherry did the same, but sat back to back with Ramona, her legs crossed as well. Much of their legs and thighs were exposed thanks to their 'battle dresses' that many of the female soldiers wore instead of pants. They also sat back to back in order to completely obscure Welkin's view from Dorothy, who silently entered the tent after them and remained low to the ground._

_"Uh… something I can help you girls with…" Welkin said while blushing._

_"Not really, we just wanted to chat with you for a while, handsome!" Ramona said seductively._

_"Yeah, you've really begun to shine and catch a lot of the female squad member's attention lately. Especially after yesterdays battle. You handled yourself so well and protected all of us and got everyone out alive," Cherry complimented. "I love a man who can handle so much on his plate at one time."_

_As they were doing this, Dorothy was silently going through some papers in a makeshift filing cabinet, looking for both an orders sheet and a paper that had his signature on it. As she was sifting through the pile of papers, she accidentally knocked over a canteen of water and it hit the dirt floor with a soft thud._

_"What was tha-" Welkin started._

_Ramona suddenly reached forward and softly grabbed Welkin by the chin, "Listen, Welkin, I was wondering… do you happen to like any of your female soldiers or officers? In a romantic way?"_

_"What?" Welkin said while blushing even brighter._

_"Come on, you're a guy, admit it. There must be someone that you like or at least find attractive. Would it happen to be possibly… me, or Ramona or someone we happen to know?" Cherry inquired while leaning in towards Welkin, Ramona doing the same. Their cheeks were touching one another's and their soft breath hitting both of Welkin's cheeks and sending a tingle down his spine._

_Meanwhile, behind them, Dorothy had finally found both an orders sheet and a document with his signature on it. She silently crept forward and tapped the back of Ramona's boot to signal that she had what they needed and quickly left the tent._

_At the same time Welkin pulled away, "Now, now girls… I do not think something like this is appropriate. I'm your commanding officer and… stuff…"_

_Ramona looked at Cherry and winked at her. Both of them then got up and began to back away towards the tent flap. "Yeah, you can say that. But we see how you look at Sergeant Alicia Melchiott, so don't try and play all innocent on us." Ramona said with a wink and a chuckle, she then ducked under the tent flap and left. Cherry followed right behind her. Both were giggling, blushing and running away as fast as they could._

_"I can't believe we just did that!" Cherry exclaimed._

_"I know! Still, at least he didn't freak out or anything. So we played it quite well I think."_

* * *

_The girls waited till the next morning to go through with their plan; early enough that most of the squad would still be asleep and so that they'd be able to get in and get out, preferably before anyone else saw them. At 7:00 A.M. they set out to find Nils and he was not hard to find. The girls knew he liked to have a morning cigarette, close to either the barracks on base or outside of Squad Sevens tent on missions. This routine was like clockwork and helped them find him right away._

_Ramona leaned towards Cherry as the two walked towards the squad tent, "I hope this works…" she whispered._

_Cherry nodded, "Don't worry; we'll only be out of the camp for an hour at most. That should give the two of you enough time to talk, right?"_

_True to their little schedule they made up for Nils, they found him outside the Squad Seven tent, leaning against a pile of wooden crates, arms crossed over his chest, head held down as he silently smoked his cigarette._

_Ramona was getting nervous, tugging at the collar of her black turtle neck undershirt. Cherry placed a hand on her back and softly pushed her forward as a sign of encouragement. She looked back, smiled and nodded thankfully to Cherry. She took one more deep breath and walked over to Nils._

_He heard someone approaching, slowly opened both eyes and looked up at Ramona who was walking up to him, hands held behind her back, looking kind of shy about something._

_Ramona cleared her throat, "Ahem… Nils…"_

_"Hmm?" Nils grunted, not even bothering to properly answer her._

_"W-we've been ordered to go on an early morning recon patrol. The team consists of me, you and Cherry…"_

_"Really?" Nils asked slowly._

_Ramona nodded and brought the paper out from behind her back and handed it to Nils. He took it, and began to look over the orders for the recon patrol._

_Cherry was watching and smiling, but jumped once she felt a hand plant itself on her shoulder. "Hey, Cherry! What's up?" a female voice asked._

_Cherry quickly looked back and saw Fina the medic. "What's she doing here!" Cherry thought worriedly. She quickly looked towards Ramona and Nils; he was still looking down at the order form._

_"N-nothing just got something that needs doing this morning…" Cherry said, placing her hand on Fina's shoulder, trying to lead her away._

_Just then, "Are you serious?" Nils's voice asked loudly. Fina looked back and saw that he didn't look too happy. Curious, she moved past Cherry and walked up to Ramona and Nils._

_"What's up?" Fina asked Ramona, she got along quite well with her as well._

_Ramona shot a worried look toward Cherry, but she just held up her hands in a wide shrug. Nils though was showing the orders form to Fina. Their plan was in trouble already and they weren't even out of the base yet._

_"Only sending out three soldiers on a recon patrol?" Fina asked curiously while looking at Nils. He just grunted loudly and shook his head._

_Fina looked back at Ramona, "A standard recon is made up of five soldiers, isn't it?" Fina asked, another grunt and nod from Nils confirmed her question before Ramona could answer back._

_"W-well we already have…." Ramona started, quickly looking around the area and spotting Dorothy, who was peaking out from a nearby tent, watching over the discussion. Ramona quickly pointed to Dorothy. "We have four members already! And uh… enemy presence isn't expected to be in the area, but we still need to check it out."_

_Fina tilted her head and squinted a little, slightly suspicious. But she just lowered her head and sighed, "Guess there's no choice, I'll be your fifth member and medic for the patrol."_

_"What?" Ramona squeaked._

_"Is there a problem with that?" Fina asked. "Then again, I guess you're right… maybe I should ask Welkin before we leave. I also need to tell him to expect one less medic to be on the base for a while. Mina or Gina will take over my duties."_

_Ramona stepped in front of her, "N-no no, that's quite alright, you've just helped solve a problem for us in finding a fifth member. S-so we're all set to go right, r-right?" Ramona stuttered, starting to sweat just a little._

_"Hrmm…" Nils grunted, ducking under the squad tent flap to retrieve his gear before meeting them at the front gate. Fina nodded with a smile and ran to gather her medical bag and equipment as well. Cherry on the other hand ran up to Ramona and smacked her on the arm._

_"Like what the hell?" Cherry asked, glaring at Ramona._

_Ramona rubbed her arm, "Don't worry… minor set back is all…" Ramona responded. She then spotted Dorothy, still hiding behind a nearby tent flap and quickly made her way over to her. Dorothy yelped in fear and tried to run away, but was grabbed by the back of the collar._

_"This wasn't part of the plan!" Dorothy protested._

_"Like I said, minor set back. But you're coming with us now, that's the end of it!" Ramona said while dragging Dorothy along with her towards the squad tent to quickly gather their equipment for the days patrol._

* * *

_Not long after, all the members for the 'patrol' were loaded into a blue and white jeep and headed for the front gates. Cherry was driving, Fina next to her in the passenger side. Nils was in the back, behind the driver's seat, Ramona was in the middle, pressed right up against Nils and Dorothy was next to Ramona, right behind the passenger's seat. Their gear was strapped to both sides of the jeep, with a lot of the other equipment and Nils's anti-tank lancaar rounds in the back trunk._

_They reached the front gate and Cherry passed the orders sheet to the guard at the front of the camp exits. He quickly looked them over, but showed no signs of suspicion as he nodded and passed the sheet back to Cherry, then lifted the gate up and out of the way for the jeep to move past._

_A few minutes after the jeep had left the base, Ramona started the conversation, or at least attempted to._

_"So… Nils, where are you from?" Ramona asked. Cherry's eyes shifted up to the rear view mirror, watching both the road and the scene going on in the back._

_"Hmmm…" Nils responded slow and serious like._

_"What did you do before the war?" Ramona asked next._

_"Hmph!" Nils grunted a little bit louder, sounding annoyed already._

_Ramona sighed, "Don't you ever like, talk to anyone?"_

_"No. Not to girls most of all." Nils answered sternly._

_Ramona gasped in both surprise and offence, "And what's that supposed to mean?"_

_Cherry shook her head, "Great start to a great 'date' you've got going there Ramona."_

_Suddenly an explosion went off near the side of the road, followed by a loud, growing shrieking sound, the sound of mortar fire!_

_Cherry cranked the wheel hard to the left, avoiding an incoming mortar round that exploded off to their right. She then cranked it hard to the right and avoided another explosion off to the left. All the girls were screaming in terror, Nils looking about, trying to find out where the rounds were coming from._

_"Stop the damn jeep! NOW!" Nils roared._

_Cherry immediately responded and slammed on the brakes, cranking the wheel hard to the left, bringing the jeep to a screeching halt. Her fumbling hands tried to shift it into reverse, to get the jeep pointed back towards the base. The grinding of the gears told everyone she was having a hard time getting it into the right gear._

_"Forget it; we need to get out of the jeep!" Nils ordered over the nearby explosions._

_He then grabbed his anti-tank lance off the side of the jeep, ran to the side of the road and hopped over a fallen tree and took cover. The girls were trying to get their stuff off the side of the jeep as well, explosions going off all around them. Ramona and Cherry quickly retrieved their rifles and ran to take cover with Nils. Dorothy was trying to get the gear out of the trunk, but her trembling hands were having a hard time operating the handle._

_"Forget it kid! Get your ass over here!" Nils shouted._

_But she was tackled by Fina instead and they rolled away from the jeep, just as a lucky mortar round slammed into the jeep and blew it sky high, all of their equipment with it. Smoke and dust from the explosion were thrown high into the air, obscuring their view of either girl or whether or not they were still alive._

_"Dorothy! Dorothy, are you alright?" Ramona screamed._

_Other than the explosions, there was no answer. Suddenly, Dorothy came charging out from the smoke, running towards the girls and Nils. But rather then climb over the fallen tree, hysterically she tried to jump over it and join them. What she didn't know was that the ditch dropped steeply about 6 or 7 feet down to the forest floor. She thought the girls and Nils were lying prone on flat ground, not lying against a steep ditch wall. She fell this distance, landing hard on the ground and badly twisting one of her ankles as she then began to shriek in pain._

_"Oh for the love of…" Nils groaned._

_"Guys! Guys!" Fina's voice called out from the other side of the road._

_"Fina, is that you?" Cherry shouted._

_"Yeah, still alive!" Fina responded._

_There were explosions slamming into the ground all over the place and the road, now the sounds of shouting, angry men could be heard, quickly approaching their position._

_"I can't get you to!" Fina said, "We gotta get out of here!"_

_Nils shook his head and looked down at the ground to Ramona and Cherry who were tending to Dorothy. "Leave her; she'll only slow us down!" Nils said._

_Ramona and Cherry looked back at him in disbelief, "Girls and most of all Seven's never leave one of their own behind!"_

_Nils slammed his fist against the log, "Ah! You stupid, stupid girls!" Nils cursed; he then looked back across the road, to a ducked down Fina. "Go on without us, we've got problems of our own over here and can't make it back!"_

_Fina hesitated for a moment and then nodded her head, "Alright, I'll go for help! You all just hang in there, no dying on me!"_

_Nils cursed loudly again as he watch Fina scrambled back from the road and ran, ducking under tree branches, bullets flying past her and smacking trees as she booked it back to camp._

_Nils then climbed down the small embankment and joined the girls, "Can you walk?" Nils asked. Dorothy shook her head, "Fine, you! Take this!" and Nils shoved his anti-tank lance into Cherry's hands, causing her to drop her rifle in the process. Ramona bent down and picked up Cherry's rifle and put it over her opposite shoulder that already had a rifle on it. Meanwhile, Nils bent down and picked up Dorothy and placed her over his shoulder, slinging her machine gun over his other shoulder._

_They couldn't walk along the road, as it was still being hammered by mortar rounds and enemy troops were already coming down the road as well towards them. They couldn't run back to base along the steep, angled ditch. Their only choice was to head down, away from the road and into the great Kloden forest and find a different route back to the base and their squad._

_Nils was already heading down the sloped ground, carrying Dorothy; he turned and placed his hand against the side of his mouth, "Run you stupid girls! RUN!"_

_"We're not stupid!" Ramona snapped back. At the same time she noticed that Cherry was having a hard time carrying the heavy lance, which weighed more than she did no doubt. So she bent down and picked up the other end and both girls ran while carrying the lance, avoiding gunfire and following Nils into the forest._

* * *

"Even so, it's not your fault Dorothy," Ramona said, looking down at the ground. "It's mine; it was my entire plan all along. Now we're stuck out here and having…. Who knows how many Imperials chasing us and heading towards the cam- oh… Oh no…"

Ramona sat down with her hands against her midsection, which was cramping up. "Not now…"

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Cherry asked, dropping the heavy lance to the ground.

"Hey! Be careful with that!" Nils yelled as he dropped from the tree he had climbed and came crashing down on the ground next to the girls, though he landed perfectly on his feet and even shook the ground with his heavy, muscular framed body.

Now Ramona was moaning in discomfort, rubbing her hands against her stomach. "This isn't good, Cherry…" Ramona said softly.

"What's her problem?" Nils asked as he reached back to his back pocket and tried to retrieve a cigarette, but once he pulled out his pack, nearly all of them were bent, broken and already spilling out their tobacco contents to the ground. Only one remained mostly intact, so he took it out and put it in his mouth, next he patted his pockets for his lighter, but it was no where to be found.

Nils started to get angry, "Any of you bitches got a light?" he asked with a growl.

Cherry was tending to Ramona, she looked over and glared at Nils and shook her head, Ramona groaned, and then shook her head and Dorothy did the same while rubbing her ankle. "No one has a lighter?" Nils growled.

"Not on us… we have some in the backpacks… which are back at the burned out jeep if you want to go back and get them." Ramona said. She was starting to get angry as well, at the whole predicament they were in.

Nils took the cig out of his mouth and crumbled it up into his fist while cursing under his breath, "This is hell… pure hell!"

"Hey, relax buddy. Things could be like so much worse than this you know!" Cherry shot back.

Nils placed his hands on his hips and shook his head, "How could things get any worse?" Nils asked.

There was a low rumble of thunder and rain began to fall in a steady downpour. Cherry looked over at Nils and said, "Gee... thanks Nils..."

now he heard Ramona moaning a little bit louder. "What's her problem?"

Cherry had an idea, but didn't want to discuss the details in front of him. "Nothing just… girl problems…"

"Girl prob- Oh man!" Nils said. Walking away in disgust, now he knew what was wrong with Ramona.

Then, in the distance, they could hear their Imperial pursuers approaching and by the sounds of it, there were many.

"Equipment check!" Nils yelled, "What have we got? Can we even put up a decent fight?"

All the girls patted their pockets, checked their pouches and their rifles and machine gun.

"I'd hate to say this… but we've got next to crap for ammo and even less for supplies." Cherry said.

"I've counted, we've only got four rifle clips, two Mag clips and one lancaar round and that's already attached to your lance, Nils." Ramona added.

Nils cursed, then picked up Dorothy and slung her machine gun over his other shoulder and began to run, Cherry and Ramona following close behind him. Nearby, there was a large hill visible. If they got to the top, they'd have the advantage of fighting from an elevated position, clearer view of the battlefield and able to get an idea of where they were in terms of how close or how far they were from the camp and the rest of the sevens.

With this new plan in mind, Nils lead the girls up the hill; however, after years of smoking, his lungs were having a very hard time carrying oxygen sufficiently to fuel his body. Not to mention that he had a small girl on his shoulder, and his entire lancer armour on his body. Ramona was at the very back of the group, moaning in discomfort from her… lady troubles and Cherry was sweating bullets from having to help carry Nils heavy lance.

Suddenly, as they were just a few feet from the top, it felt like someone slammed a baseball bat directly into the back of Nils's thigh and he fell forward, dropping Dorothy who began to roll down the hill, but was caught by Cherry and Ramona. Nils growled in pain and touched the back of his thigh. When he brought his hand back, it was covered in blood; a bullet had struck him and knocked him down.

He looked down the hill and saw Imperial shock troopers firing up at them. Nils roared, grabbed Dorothy's machine gun and sprayed bullets from its muzzle at the Imperials while holding it with one hand. The bullets smacked and pelted the ground all around the shock troopers and they retreated for the time being, probably to both regroup with their comrades and tell them where the Gallian's were holding out.

Nils groaned and fell onto his back, Cherry and Ramona knelt down next to him, tugging on his jacket and arms, "Come on mister! We're almost to the top!" Ramona encouraged.

Ignoring his injury for now, Nils got up and slide back down the hill until he was next to Dorothy. He picked her up and put her over his shoulder and continued to climb the steep hill, until finally, there were at the top and rested.

It was now that Nils fell back onto his back and groaned in pain from having made his injury worse by moving so much. Ramona and Cherry knelt down in front of him and examined his wound.

"This looks bad… we'll have to take the bullet out if we can!" Ramona said quickly and with a shaky voice.

Cherry grimaced as she looked at the gruesome wound that was oozing blood, "What should we do?"

"You've got long, slender fingers; maybe you can dig it out…" Ramona suggested.

"EEWW! No way!"

Nils dug out his bayonet blade and held it out to the girls, "Just get it out!" he ordered.

Dorothy's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fell backwards into the grass and fainted. Cherry's mouth dropped open and she quickly shook her head, "Alright! I'll try to dig it out first… I don't want to cut anything just yet…"

Nils then moved his other hand away that was clutching his wound and some blood that was pooling under his hand sprayed out, right onto Ramona's chest and she screamed, "No~! You've got blood all over my uniform! It's ruined!" Ramona was a neat freak, she freaked out over getting dirt on herself. Never mind blood that stains horribly.

Nils slapped Ramona, right across the cheek with his bloody palm, "Shut up! I'm the one whose freaking injured!"

Cherry then slapped Nils back and cried, "Don't slap her!" Ramona slapped Cherry and yelled, "Don't slap him!" Nils slapped both of the girls at the same time and roared, "Shut up! Both of you!" Rage filled the girls eyes as they glared at Nils, teeth bared and they yelled in unison, "Don't slap GIRLS!" and two tiny fists flew towards Nils and connected to his face and his head flew back and slammed into the trunk of the tree that he was resting under.

Darkness began to fill his eyes and as he began to slide to the side, blacking out, a thought came to mind, "These girls… are… different…"

* * *

_As Darkness took him, he remembered when the Imperial army invaded his home town and attacked his gang hideout. They put up a desperate fight, he and his men and were able to hold out better than the town guard. But as his men fell one by one, none of his girls, his fan club, his 'groupies' that occupied his hideout lent one single helping hand. No, they were cowering under tables, hiding all over the place or just plain freaking out._

_"Grab a weapon and lend a hand!" Nils ordered the numerous girls cowering in the back room of his hideout. "My men are falling! Dying out there and we need more people up front!"_

_Again, none of the near twenty girls moved an inch, they all continued to cry in fear, panic and were unable to move. As his followers, they claimed they would do anything just to be in Nils's presence. But, when the time had come, they didn't follow through. When he needed them the most, they wouldn't help at all. Not even when there were more of them in the back, than the surviving members of his gang who were trying to keep the Imperials at bay._

_An injured member of Nils's gang came limping through the back door, clutching a bloody shoulder, "Sir… half of our men are dead, most of the other half are wounded, including myself. What should we do…?"_

_Nils looked at his female 'groupies' in anger, and cursed in frustration. He turned to his lieutenant and said, "Open the secret passage, we're pulling out… the Imps can have this place if they want, we're getting out while we still can."_

_The lieutenant nodded and ran to the back of the room and pulled a rug out of the way, revealing a very large double doorway among the floorboards. He pulled these open and revealed a large dark tunnel with stone steps descending down into the ground._

_"Girls! Head to the front and retrieve the injured-"_

_But, not a single girl heard a word he said, they were climbing and crawling over one another, trying desperately to get down into the escape passage. Once they all disappeared Nils shook his head, "Women… so damn useless!"_

_He then turned to his lieutenant, "Tell the men to retrieve our wounded and head for the tunnel, leave the dead and all the equipment."_

_"Yes, sir!" and he set about to fulfill Nils orders._

_As the building shook from explosions and dust fell from the ceilings, Nils sat down and lit a cigarette. "So this is how it ends… this is how our gang disintegrates and we lose everything… because of… girls… too afraid to fight or even lend a hand."_

_Nils then brought out two large gas cans he kept near the escape tunnel and began to empty their highly flammable liquid contents all over the ground and over his desk and furniture. The members of his gang, less than ten appeared and headed for the escape tunnel, Nils followed last, taking one last look at his hideout, the one he fought so hard to win over from rival gangs in the past. His only home._

_He then took out one more cigarette, put it in his mouth and flipped open his silver Zippo and lit up. "Farewell…" he said out loud, he then tossed the still burning zippo onto the ground and ignited the gas and everything quickly caught fire. He then pulled down the heavy double doors and followed his gang down the dark tunnels that lead far out of the town and into the nearby forests._

* * *

Nils was then abruptly woken up to the sounds of gunfire. He quickly sat up and was back in present times. He looked down at his leg, saw that it was bandaged up and didn't hurt so much anymore, the girls had did it, they got the bullet out and dressed his wound as well as any medic would have.

He looked back up and saw Cherry, Ramona and Dorothy all firing down the hill, most likely at the Imperials down below. At the same time, he looked behind him and saw black pillars of smoke rising from the forest, less than one mile from where they were. It had to be the Seven's and the other Squads, engaging the Imperials in another separate fight.

Finally, the firing stopped and Ramona said with a sight of relief, "They're pulling back… again…"

Cherry shook her sweat filled head, "They just keep coming! They charge, pull back, charge again and pull back again… how long are they gonna keep coming?"

"If they come back again, we're finished! I've got three bullets left, that's it!" Ramona said.

"I've got two bullets left, two!" Cherry said.

"Just half a magazine of Mag rounds…" Dorothy added.

"Can't fire back soon… can't move with this leg of mine… This is it…" Nils said. He then looked up at the girls, "Get out of here! Head down the opposite slope and down the hill, I'll cover you as best I can!"

The girls looked back at Nils, "No! You're coming with us!" Ramona protested.

"It'll never work; I'm way too big for you girls to carry. Dorothy needs to be carried and you can manage her better than me, so it has to be this way!"

Ramona put her hand to her chin and thought hard, her eyes drifting down to Nils's giant 'arm guard'. The part that shielded his firing arm and much of his body when he raised his lance to fire. However, before she could speak, the sounds of the shouting Imperials came back.

"They're coming again, guys!" Cherry yelled over her shoulder to the others.

Ramona then dug her side arm pistol out of her pouch and handed it to Nils, along with her rifle, "Take my place!" she yelled. She then dragged Nils large armoured arm guard around a large tree and disappeared from view. Nils, meanwhile, dragged himself to the edge of the hill and fired Ramonas rifle, then once those rounds were completed, used her pistol as best he could. All the while, a loud, banging and clanging sound could be heard from behind the tree where Ramona was located. The girls and Nils would look back every now and then.

This time, the many Imperials were now climbing the hill. All the times before, they never got close enough to even try. Now they were climbing and firing up at the Gallians, trapped like rats.

Just then, Ramona came back around the tree, dragging Nils's armour, which was now pounded flat, like a board. She then looked at Nils and yelled, "Sit your ass down here, mister! We're not leaving you behind!"

Before he could answer, he felt Cherry grab him by the jacket as she and Dorothy fell back to where Ramona was. She then pushed him onto his back and mounted him, her legs on either side of his body. Cherry sat on his chest, Dorothy in the middle, over his stomach and finally, Ramona in the back… directly over his crotch.

Their rifles were turned over; butts pointed down and were going to be used almost like paddles. Nils lance was being held by all the girls and all Nils could do was lay back, with them on top of him and dread what was coming next.

"Everyone… hang on!" Ramona called out.

Then, with the lance pointed straight back, Ramona squeezed the large trigger which was under her armpit and between her arm and the side of her chest. The lance then fired its only Lancaar round, not at any target, but to give the girls a push, so to say and they took off flying down the hill, like they were riding a toboggan in winter.

The girls were screaming, using their rifles to 'steer' as best they could and Ramona, in the back, used the empty lance to both create drag and steer from the back, also to slow down when they needed. The ride was that much faster because of the rainfall and slick mud that was all along the slope. All the while, Nils couldn't see what was going on. He didn't dare look 'up' which to him would show an upside down view of what the ride looked like from the front.

Luckily the hill wasn't very high or long and they began to slow once they reached the bottom of the hill. Once they came to a stop, Cherry and Ramona stood up and ran to the front, taking their rifle slings off as fast as they could. The moment they had them off, they passed them down to Nils, who was still lying on his back on his flattened armoured arm guard.

"Hang onto these! We're not out of this yet!" Ramona shouted.

Nils nodded and took hold of the slings, one in each hand. Ramona and Cherry held onto the other ends and dug their feet into the ground and began to drag Nils along the wet, muddy ground. If they couldn't carry him, they were at least going to attempt to drag him along; they would not leave him behind. Dorothy was still on top of him, this time turned around completely and looking behind them as they went along. The Imperials were making their way down the hill in the distance.

Ramona and Cherry continued to drag Nils along the ground, which luckily for them, was slick with rain and made their job just a little bit easier.

This continued only for a few minutes more and both girls fell to their knees, then forward onto their hands and panted and sweated profusely. "That's it… no more…" Ramona cried, literally.

It looked like the end. They were out of ammo, completely. Two of the four were injured and all of them were exhausted. All they could hope for was that the Imperials would take them captive instead of killing them outright.

* * *

Suddenly, numerous sounds of automatic and semi-automatic gunfire could be heard… from behind them. This was followed by a lot of shouting and war cries. Nils and the other girls looked back and saw Gallians, dozens of them; it was Squad Seven and the other squads. They were charging down the hill, firing all the way. Fina the medic was a head of everyone, leading the charge; she kept her word and had returned with reinforcements.

The Imperials, who were once pursuing them, gave up and turned completely and were in full retreat.

Ramona and Cherry hugged each other and laughed happily and in relief. Dorothy fell off of Nils and landed on her side, passed out from sheer relief and pure exhaustion. Nils head fell back and he looked up at the sky, which was beginning to clear and blue sky could be seen now.

Just then, a body fell next to him, a head resting against his shoulder. He looked over and saw that it was Ramona who was resting her head against his shoulder, her arm wrapped around his muscular chest.

"And how are you, Nils? On this fine, fine day…"

And for the first time, Nils smiled a little bit and shook his head, "This has been one hell of a day… you girls aren't so bad… I guess. You've proven your worth, far better than any girls I have known in the past."

Fina the medic and other members of Squad Seven crowded around the small group of girls and Nils, while the other squads and members spread out in the forest, making sure there were no other Imperials in the area.

Just then, Captain Varrot appeared, she didn't look all too happy and she asked, "I demand an explanation of what happened this morning!"

The girls and Nils looked at each other, Ramona sighed and stood up, turning to Captain Varrot and saying, "It's my fault… I'm the one who wanted to get Nils alone, to talk to him one on one and-"

"No! It's my fault! I'm the one who suggested the plan to leave the base in the first place!" Cherry interrupted.

"I'm the one who forged Welkin's signature and placed it on the order form. I'm the guiltiest one here!" Dorothy added.

Nils then sat up and turned to Captain Varrot, "But, I went along with it. I could have stopped them if I wanted to…"

"What?" Ramona exclaimed, Dorothy and Cherry looking just as shocked.

Nils looked over at them and the corner of his mouth curved slightly up, "I'm not an idiot… I knew the orders weren't real. But, having nothing better to do, I decided to go along with it."

Captain Varrot placed her hand against her face and sighed, then said, "I should have you all thrown in the stockades for what you've all done… but, you helped discover an enemy ambush that was going to be sprung on the Sevens once they had left the base. Fina ran back and told us of the large Imperial force that was gathered just down the road from where you were attacked. That gave us time to prepare for their attack and foil it.

And… seeing as how everyone is still alive, let's just forget this ever happened. But, let it happen once and only once, got it?"

The girls all smiled and saluted, Nils saluted from the ground and Captain Varrot returned their salutes, then left. A short while later, two large male medics arrived with a stretcher and placed Nils in it and began to return back to the encampment. Nils, meanwhile, was looking up at the sky and thinking about these girls he fought along side and how different they were from other girls he knew. These girls weren't so bad and were excellent fighters with iron wills and dedication to their squad mates, and even him. If he had these types of girls when his hideout and home were attacked, maybe he wouldn't have lost everything.

Just then, Cherry placed her hand on his shoulder as she walked next to him. She then took his large hand and shook it, "I just wanted to say… thank you for the best birthday experience I have ever had! This is one I'll remember forever. I'm extremely thankful that my birthday didn't become the day I died as well."

Nils grunted and nodded his head in response.

Meanwhile, Ramona was walking next to his stretcher on the other side and writing in her small book as she walked, she was writing:

_**"Nil Daerden: Perfect 10/10! Man what a 'date' we had! I've never been so scared in my whole entire life, but at the same time, it was kind of exciting. This'll be one day I'm never going to forget, nor one man I'll ever be able to forget as well. I got to see a whole other side of Nils that I don't think anyone is ever going to get to see! I pity what other men will have to compete with after an experience like this; it's going to be tough… for them!"**_

Ramona then closed her little book, put it back in her pouch and continued the walk back to the encampment, smiling the whole way.


	4. Alexis Hilden: Our Lost Knight

**Alexis Hilden: Our Lost Knight**

The cafeteria of the Lanseal academy was abuzz with noise and activity. Students were laughing, chatting and having a good time. Avan was stealing food from Zeri's plate as he was busy ranting to Cosette about the war and other issues. Melissa was in the far corner, snickering and blushing over how into his speech that he was, he always looked the most handsome whenever he got serious about something.

The cadets were enjoying their break from combat; the last few days had seen alot of action, lots of travelling from place to place on patrol. But, tomorrow they were scheduled to head to the Leanbluff woods to help escort a large Darcsen caravan that was on its way out of Rebel territory and into safety in the north.

Alexis then entered the seating section from the food area and had a tray full of food in her hand as she searched for an empty table. Meanwhile, Avan was watching her as she walked and said to himself, "Man… I still can't believe that Alexis is… a girl…"

Zeri heard him and snorted, "Honestly… how could you not notice?"

"Alexis is generally a girls name after all and don't you listen to her voice when she speaks, it has a feminine sound to it." Cosette added

Avan nervously scratched the back of his head, "It was kind of hard to tell... by the way she dresses and acts all the time, its more like a boy than a girl, thats for sure."

"What's so wrong with that?" Zeri asked, "Anyway, it does not matter to me, Alexis is one heck of a soldier. That's what matters most, I think."

"Yeah, she is!" Cosette said, "She's reliable, brave, selfless and she even cares deeply about the Darcsen students. She does not discriminate against anyone, not even Helmut!"

"Yeah, I guess so… still, I'd like to make up with her. Just not sure how to…" Avan confessed.

"Make up? What happened?" Zeri inquired.

"Yeah, tell us what happened?" Cosette chimed in.

Avan sighed and said, "Well, not too long ago I found out… first 'hand' that Alexis was a girl."

Avan paused, and then Zeri and Cosette could see his face turning bright red from blushing.

"I can't just walk up to her and speak to her normally after I… I…"

"You what?" asked Zeri and Cosette in unison.

Avan gulped, "After I… grabbed her breast. By accident of course!"

"You what?" Cosette nearly screamed.

Zeri shook his head, "Well, I suppose that if you didn't know that Alexis was a girl before that... Then it certainly would be a surprise to find out that way."

"Yeah… now I'm not sure how to approach her after that…"

"That's going to be tough. Because not only did you violate her trust, you violated her body as well." Zeri pointed out.

Cosette smacked him in the arm, " Zeri!"

"It's the truth," Zeri shot back.

Cosette shook her head while her cheeks were puffed up at Zeri, she then turned to Avan and smiled, "Never mind him, Avan. It's simple, just go up to her and apologize for what happened. Alexis isn't an unreasonable girl. She'll listen to what you have to say and I'm sure that she'll forgive you." Cosette offered.

"You got along with her just fine before you found out that Alexis was a girl, once you apologize, I'm sure that you two will go back to the way you were before." said Zeri.

"Just don't sit and leave it for too long, it'll be harder and harder to go, if you don't go now." Cosette added.

Avan nodded and stood up, "You're right, I'm just gonna march right over there and set things right."

And with that, Avan walked towards Alexis, she happened to look up and see him coming as she continued to walk down the aisle. As he got closer, she stopped in her tracks and waited for him to come to her. Though by the look on her face, it was clear that part of her was still upset.

"Hey, Alexis…" Avan said as he reached her.

"Yes, something I can do for you?" Alexis asked plainly

"No, no, I just wanted to-"

"Apologize?" Alexis said, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah…"

"I'll be honest; I'm still fuming about how suddenly you changed how you felt about me after you found out. I thought you knew the whole time."

"No, I didn't."

"Even if you didn't, you've always treated everyone with a good sense of equality, guys and girls. So why should it have mattered to you if I am a girl. I'm still Alexis, your friend and classmate."

"I… I…" Avan muttered, not sure what to say at that moment.

Alexis shook her head and sighed, "It would seem that you are still not ready to accept me for who I am. So I'll leave, until you are ready to properly apologize."

Alexis then made her way past Avan and started to walk away, but she turned and said, "Oh, and Avan-"

Just then she ran into someone else and ended up spilling her entire tray onto that persons chest, "Ah! Watch out!" a female voice cried.

Alexis turned and saw Inghild sitting on the ground; she was a new transfer student who had only been at the academy for a few weeks. But in that time she had already made her mark as a self proclaimed prophet, always telling of misfortune and bad luck that would befall any student of Class G.

As Alexis continued to look down at Inghild, she saw just how much of a mess she had made on her uniform and her white hood, both of which were covered with spaghetti sauce, iced tea and noodles.

Other students nearby turned and watched the spectacle."Oh my, that's going to stain!" Rene said.

"Uh oh… you're in trouble now!" Sofia teased.

She shook her head at them, then turned to Inghild, "My apologies," said Alexis, "Here, let me help you with-"

Inghild suddenly gasped, "A prophecy!" she announced. All of the students around her gasped, "Who's it going to be this time?" Lotte asked, digging out her notepad, getting ready to write down Inghild's next prediction.

"Please don't be me, by all the luck I have left, don't let it be me!" Joachim pleaded.

Avan was constantly a target, so he braced himself, "Oh great… what now?"

Inghild was still on the ground in a sitting position, hands around her blue necklace jewellery, "I see… the color of steel gray... The one who bears steel gray hair. And this color… this dreadful color, black, the color of death itself! And… one more… blue… color of water…"

Lotte was busy jotting this information down, she knew by now that the first color was usually the color of the selected persons hair. The next color was the level of disaster or misfortune. And lastly, by what way the person would meet their predicted fate.

Her eyes scanned the cafeteria and immediately spotted Alexis and the color of her hair, steel gray. "Oh no… I think she means you, Alexis!"

"Me what?"

"She predicts that soon… you will die, by some means of water!"

Alexis shook her head, brushing it off, "Hmph, I do not believe in such mumbo jumbo. There is no way someone can predict when and how a person will die, it's just not possible."

"Do not heed his warnings so lightly, child. His word is absolute; I am merely the messenger for your predicted fate."

Alexis turned and walked away, saying, "My fate, my destiny is my own to decide, not yours."

Inghild sighed, "It is not my decision. It is his."

Alexis then left the cafeteria and was heading back to her room, but was stopped by Avan who came running out after her and shouted, "Yo! Alexis, wait up!"

Alexis turned to Avan, one hand on her hip, "What is it now?"

"It's about Inghild's omen, I think you should listen. She's been pretty accurate lately. And I'd hate for anything to happen to you if-"

"That's enough!" Alexis interrupted, "Avan, I am not going to let something like that frighten me. Because I am not a simple scared little girl, I am a soldier. "

"Alexis, I-"

"Avan, would you be so concerned about me if you had still thought of me as a boy? Or would you slap me on the shoulder like you used to, laugh, and say 'Hey, don't sweat it, buddy!' in your normally cheerful voice?" Alexis then stepped closer and stood nose to nose with Avan, staring deep into his eyes, searching for an answer. Avans lips moved, but nothing came out, soon though, he looked away and stared down at the ground."I knew it… just leave me alone…"

* * *

Avan was still worried about this most recent prophecy made by Inghild; he knew from past experience that there usually was some truth to her predictions. So, just before lights out, he headed to Professor Brixhams office, knocked on the door and waited.

"Yes? Who is it at this hour?" Brixhams voice called out.

Avan then entered the room and Brixham smiled, "Ah, Avan, how can I help you today?"

Avan then strode up to his desk, placed his hands on top and said, "Listen, Brixy. I have a personal favour to ask."

"Oh, this should be interesting. " Brixham said while leaning back in his large leather chair and folding his hands into his lap.

"It's about tomorrow's mission, sir. I'd like Alexis to sit out of it."

Brixham tilted his head, "That's a rather unusual request. Explain to me your reasons for asking this."

"I… have a bad feeling about tomorrow's mission, sir. I think something might happen to Alexis if we let her come along, something bad."

"Hmmm… what are you basing this prediction from?"

Avan rubbed the back of his head nervously, chuckled and said, "W-well, truth be told, it was from a prophecy that Inghild spoke of. She predicted that Alexis would soon meet her death by some means of water."

Brixham shook his head and stood up, walked over to his office window and while looking out he said, "So, you want me to ask one of Class G's best fencers to sit out of a very important and humanitarian mission… based on a prophecy made by another student?"

Avan knew how crazy it sounded, but he also genuinely cared for Alexis, so he nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

Brixham didn't respond, so Avan went on, "I already tried to ask her to sit out, but she wouldn't listen. Trouble is, if there's a fight or a mission to accomplish, she just can't stay out of it… but if you ordered her to stay out of it-"

Brixham turned to Avan with one hand on his hip and stared intently at him, not saying a word.

"I guess you can't do that…"

Brixham shook his head, "No, not based on what you're telling me. Alexis is the best fencer your class has, have you ever stopped to think of the other students and what would happen to them if she were to sit this mission out? As a senior member of the class, Alexis is charged with watching over the other fencers and armoured techs and teaching them while out in the field.

Your class needs her, so she stays on the team. There's just too much potential for disaster if she doesn't participate. So, tomorrow, she goes, and that's final. Please see yourself out, Avan Hardins."

Avan then walked out of Brixhams office, rounded the corner and stopped. Anger and worry began to boil up inside him, so he drew back his fist and slammed it against the wall.

* * *

The next day, late into the afternoon, the cadets of Class G were escorting three large transport trucks, loaded with elderly Darcsen men, women and small Darcsen children. Walking along side of the trucks were Darcsen teenagers and middle aged Darcsen men and women. Class G's cadets were walking just on either side of the road in columns, Class G's tank was at the head of the convoy.

They had descended much of the high mountain from which the base camp of the Darcsen convoy had waited, but still had quite some ways down to the bottom. Avan walked with Cosette and Zeri on one side of the road, he looked over and spotted Magari, who was carrying a small Darcsen girl on her shoulders. Two small boys were skipping next to her and holding onto her hands. Avan smiled at this sight, he looked further back and spotted Alexis, who was marching with the other fencers and armoured techs in a column.

Avan began to breathe easier, all the while before he was extremely tense and nervous. "Maybe Inghild was wrong this time… maybe everything's going to be ok!"

Meanwhile, less than a mile ahead, was Melissa Dalen, Class G's best scout. It was her job to scout ahead and report any enemy activity to the convoy behind her. She stuck to walking along the side of the road, among the forests trees and bushes while she scouted. It helped to conceal her better, almost to the point that she'd be invisible to friend or foe.

Still, through all the hours of the march, she had detected zero hostiles and had nothing to report. That soon ceased to be, as she heard much movement from the forests up ahead and silent voices. But, for someone as good at concealing herself as Melissa, she braved getting closer to get a better look. And from her position, she spotted a small ambush party of rebels, no more than twenty, composed mainly of shock troopers, scouts and lancers. There were no heavy troops or vehicles, which was rather odd.

Melissa then backed off a short distance, retrieved her radio and spoke, "This is Melissa Dalen, at the head of the column, I have encountered enemy-"

Suddenly, something very large came crashing through the treetops and landing so close behind her that it shook the forest floor itself. It was the first time someone else had ever gotten the drop on her and it was scary. Melissa dropped the radio and began to tremble, then, a blue light began to glow behind her, and the familiar humming sound that always followed came as well.

But as Melissa slowly turned her head, she saw something which she hadn't seen before. It was an artificial Valkyria, no doubt about it, but this unit was much smaller, less armoured and had no shield or lance. It had very large mechanical arms with serrated blades along the forearms and mechanical legs with wicked looking shocks and suspensions for jumping.

The artificial valkyria then drew its arm back and took a back handed swing at Melissa, she ducked and the units serrated blades on its arm easily sliced through the tree that she was next to, toppling it over and onto the road. The dust it kicked up momentarily blinded the Valk from its target and Melissa was able to slip away and ran back along the road towards the convoy. She had to warn the others of the rebels and this new artificial valkyria that she had just encountered...

* * *

Meanwhile, Avan crossed the road and walked next to Alexis, though she didn't look over at him as she carried her heavy sword behind her.

"Hey, Alexis. Guess I was wrong about today. We're almost at the bottom and out of danger..."

Alexis nodded, "So, are you only relieved because you didn't have to come to the rescue of a damsel in distress?"

Avan shook his head, "No, I-"

"Don't worry Avan, despite what Inghild said; I don't plan on going swimming anytime soon."

Avan and Alexis then shared a moment of laughter together. Moments later, Avan spotted Melissa come running towards the convoy, he had never seen her run in such a panicked state. Avan ran to the front of the convoy and shouted, "What is it? What happened?"

"Rebels! We're about to be attacked!" Melissa shouted back as she ran.

"Rebels!" A Darcsen woman screamed, causing others to scream in terror, little children to begin to cry and the elderly to hold them close, trying to comfort them

As class chair, Avan rushed up to the head of the column and shouted, "Scouts, shock troopers and lancers to the head of the column! Engineers, medics, fencers and armoured techs, lead the Darcsen citizens to the lower ground! Get them away from here! We'll hold them off!"

Just before Alexis moved to help the others, Avan rushed up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "Alexis! Be careful! Don't do anything rash out there today."

Alexis broke his grip and shouted, "Avan! Don't worry about me! I can take care of myself!"

The students of Class G then moved out to fulfill Avan's orders. The scouts, shock troopers and lancers moved to the front of the convoy and took up positions among the rocks and trees up ahead. The others began to unload the elderly and children from the trucks. Once they were out, the teenagers and middle aged ones helped to carry the kids and elderly down the slopes to lower ground.

As the front defensive line waited for the Rebels to appear, out of nowhere, something very large and fast sailed over their heads in an unbelievable front flip and landed behind everyone.

"What in the-" Avan shouted. Melissa didn't mention this, that there was an artificial valkyria with the rebels. But what artificial valkyria could perform such an acrobatic front flip, past an entire front line defence of cadets?

The artificial valkyria then began to run, at breakneck speed towards the retreating Darcsens and their Class G escorts.

Avan turned to the others and shouted, "Watch for incoming Rebels!"

He then began to run after the new artificial valkyira. As he ran, Zeri looked over and shouted, "Avan! Where are you going? Hey, Avan!" He then began to chase after Avan.

* * *

Not far ahead was Alexis, Mischlitt, Cosette and Magari, they were leading a small group of Darcsen children away from the road. Behind them, they saw something bright and blue coming towards them at incredible speed.

Mischlitt and Cosette broke off from the rest of the retreating units, Mischlitt ordered, "Keep going! Get them to safety!"

Mischlitt and Cosette then moved to block the incoming enemy. While Alexis and Magari continued to retreat with the Darcsen children they were escorting. As it got closer, Cosette began to fire her pistol at the incoming enemy, while Mischlitt got ready to swing her large war hammer at it once it was in range.

However, Cosettes small calibre bullets missed or bounced off the enemies armour. It then only stopped long enough to raise its large mechanical arms up in an 'X' formation and catch the hammer between its two arms and stopped the attack dead cold, despite all the power that Mischlitt put behind her swing.

"That's impossibl-" Mischlitt started.

Next, she saw the glowing blue enemy draw its mechanical arm back and take a backhanded swing at her. She only had enough time to raise her large shield up in an attempt to block the attack. But the hit she took was so hard that her shield shot back and smacked her in the face and forehead. Her shield arm broke like a twig as the shield buckled under the blow. Her small body was then thrown back, ten to fifteen feet from the point of impact.

As Mischlitts body came flying towards her, Cosette threw her pistol away and actually tried to catch Mischlitt. Cosette caught her, but the force of the impact was so great that Cosette was knocked off her feet and rolled along the ground together before coming to a stop and remaining motionless.

* * *

Alexis had heard all the commotion behind them, then looked at Magari and the four small Darcsen children she had with her, "Get going! No matter what you hear, don't stop!"

"Ok! I'll lead them out of here!" Magari responded. She then called out to the children and led them in the opposite direction from where Alexis was charging towards this new powerful artificial valkyria.

She waited and then saw the enemy come crashing through the trees, straight towards her. She breathed deep and then raised her shield up and dug her heels into the ground. She gripped her sword and got ready, "Come on… come on!" she said softly.

The V3 then appeared from the nearby brush and charged. Alexis gripped her sword tight, and then turned her hips, putting as much force behind her swing as she could. Her large sword cut through the air… but the V3 clapped its hands together just as the blade was about to hit and actually 'caught' the blade betweens its palms, stopping it dead cold.

"Little boys shouldn't play with knives!" the V3 taunted. It then pulled the sword straight up, Alexis going along with it and was flipped in an arc, landing hard on her back.

Alexis lay on her back, moaning and winded from the impact. Just as she sat up, she saw the V3 still had her sword in its hand and it was drawing it back, getting ready to throw it. Alexis gasped and tried to move to the side, but the next thing she knew, her own sword got stuck in the tree, right next to her head, missing her by less than an inch.

The V3 had missed when it threw her sword at her. Alexis looked back, only to find that it had already left the area, hot on Magari's tail no doubt.

Alexis quickly climbed back to her feet and tried to pull and pry her sword out of the tree, but it was buried deep inside, well over a foot. She only tried for a moment more, then heard the Darcsen children's' screams and cries. Cursing out loud, Alexis left her sword buried in the tree, picked up her shield and went to go help, however she could.

* * *

Not far ahead, Magari and the children that she was escorting down the sloping hill came to skidding stop at the edge of a cliff drop, knocking some pebbles and dirt over the side. They all looked down and twenty feet below was a raging river. Its width was far too wide to jump across and the water was flowing so fast that it was impossible to wade through, even if they did make it down.

Before Magari was given time to think of what to do next, she heard something coming crashes through the trees and bushes behind them. The Darcsen children all cried out in terror or hugged one another.

"Hide!" Magari instructed as she moved ahead to block the approaching enemy. It had already defeated the other people she was with, but these were children that she was protecting, so she'd do whatever she could to save them.

Behind her, the children dove into the tall grass and bushes. They raised their heads only high enough to watch their brave Darcsen escort girl try to defend them.

As the enemy got closer, the sound of snapping trees and branches became louder and louder. Panicked, Magari simply fired from the hip, left and right in a sweeping motion. Her gun then dry clicked, empty, just as the glowing blue enemy came crashing through the trees and stood just in front of her.

Magari fell back as the artificial valkyria took a back handed swing at her, missing stomach by less than an inch with its serrated blades. She began to crawl backwards as she looked up at the enemy lumbering towards her, drawing its bladed arm back for a second strike.

"Magari!" the children screamed as the enemy loomed over her.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Alexis screamed from behind them. The artificial valkyria only had enough time to look over its shoulder before a gray haired female slammed into it from behind with her shield, knocking it off of Magari and over the side of the cliff, she too went with it. The two then fell into the raging river below and disappeared beneath the waters surface.

Magari rolled over onto her stomach and screamed, "ALEXIS!"

At the same time, Avan and Zeri appeared from the bushes, "Magari! What happened?" Avan asked.

"Alexis went over the side of the cliff! She's in the water, you have to save her!"

"The water… OH NO!" Avan cried as he dropped his rifle and ran along the bank, searching the white raging waters below. As he searched, he called out, "Alexis! Alexis! Where are you?"

Just then, Alexis' head appeared from the middle of the raging river. Avan could see sheer panic on her face, so he shouted, "Alexis! Swim to me! You have to swim!"

Alexis' head continued to bob up and down in the water, her arms thrashing wildly, she then shouted back, "I can't! I can't swim! I don't know how!"

Avan and Zeri looked at eachother in horror, "She can't swim..." Zeri said.

Avan looked around, trying to think of a plan to save her, "You go and find something, anything that you can use to pull us back onto shore!" Avan ordered as he stripped off his armour and pouches,

"Avan, what are you-"

"Just go! I'm going in to get her, get something you can lower down to us; a rope, tree branch, whatever!"

"Avan! Don't be reckless!" Zeri shouted as Avan ran to the edge of the cliff, then dove in headfirst and disappeared under the raging water. Zeri ran a hand through his hair, looked around and then ran into the forest, to find anything that he could lower down to them.

Meanwhile, Avans' head reappeared above the water and he swam as hard as he could down the raging river, towards Alexis. As he swam, he called out other, "Alexis! You have to try to swim to me! Paddle if you have to!"

Alexis could barely hear him now, something was roaring up ahead. A quick look over her shoulder and she saw alot of mist and spray being kicked up. And that could only mean one thing... a waterfall was up ahead.

Alexis began to panic even more, "Help! Avan! Help me!" she shrieked as she continued to be carried down the fast rushing water.

But it was no use, Avan was still over fifty feet from her and the roar of the waterfall was almost deafening. He stopped swiming and looked at Alexis, she looked back at him, neither saying a word. Avan held a hand out to her, "Alexis!"

Alexis held her hand out and screamed, "Avannnnnnnn!" Then, went over the waterfall and Avan could no longer see her.

"Oh no..." Avan said softly. He then began to backpeddle and swim as hard as he could towards shore, to make sure that he didn't go over too.

At the same time, Zeri reappeard, a very long, thick tree branch in hand. He ran to the waters edge, searched for Avan or Alexis. He spotted Avan first, but he was alone. When he was within reach, Zeri lowered the tree branch to him, Avan took hold and was pulled in and began to climb out of the water, utterly soaked.

Zeri looked around, "What happened to Alexis?"

Avan didn't answer, instead he was running towards the edge of the waterfall. "No... she didn't!" Zeri cried and he too ran, then stood next to Avan as they both looked down at the rough churning and foaming water below.

"I don't see her, do you?" Zeri asked.

Avan shook his head, "No, but keep looking!"

Finally, after two full minutes of searching, Avan or Zeri couldn't find any trace of her. Avan dropped to his knees, "Alexis... she's gone..."

Her body would probably never resurface, they both knew this. Zeri only lowered his head and prayed for her, while Avan clawed at his hair and groaned and growled in pain at the loss of someone so dear to him.

Then, he raised his head and with tears sparkling in his eyes, he thought, "Inghild was right… She knew this would happen. I should have tried harder to stop her from coming."

* * *

Not long after, the sun was beginning to set and the small band of Rebels was driven off. Zeri and the other students of Class G returned to Avan, who was still kneeling next to the edge of the waterfall. His head was hung in sadness as he mourned the loss of Alexis. The others just stood and looked on, some with lowered heads as well.

Zeri was sad as well, but something else was weighing heavily on his mind, "Come on, Avan. It's time to go." Zeri said, "We cannot linger here; the danger is far too great. We also have injured Darcsen refugees and class mates, and the rebels that escaped could soon bring even more reinforcements."

Zeri then turned to the others and stated plainly, "Say your goodbyes to Alexis, people. Then prepare to move out!"

Those closest to Alexis stayed behind for a few moments to remember and honour her for her brave sacrifice and to say farewell to her in their own way.

Magari, who was saved by Alexis, stood at the edge of the waterfall and tossed a small Darcsen protective charm doll into the waters below. "Farewell, Alexis, may this doll keep you safe on your next journey… to heaven."

Mischlitt limped towards the edge of the waterfall, her arm in a sling and Cosette was supporting her with an arm wrapped around her. Mischlitt shook her head and said, "Alexis… you gave your life to save my people, and my friend, all Darcsens, without a moments hesitation… I will never forget you for that. Thank you, and farewell."

Mischlitt and Cosette then moved aside as Rene approached with a handful of wild flowers she had quickly picked while others were saying their goodbyes. She then threw her arms out and let the flowers fall from her hands and down into the waters below.

"You saved Magari... my best friend in the whole world, Alexis. I can never repay your noble sacrifice for that, not with all the good deeds in the world. But… whatever goodness I've received for all my years of kindness, let it pass onto you in the afterlife."

Avan then returned with Raymond, her great sword was clutched in his large hands. Avan then turned to Raymond and the others and said, "It only feels right… to let Alexis part from us with all of her gear intact. She departed us with her armour and shield, let us return her sword to her as well."

"Here, here!" everyone said in unison.

Avan then backed off to let Raymond have enough room to perform his parting duty, and then shouted, "Alright, Raymond… Do it!"

Raymond sniffled loudly and shook his tears away, then began to yell, drawing the sword back at the same time. Then, with all of his might, he heaved the sword over the edge and it spun through the air for a few seconds, then plante into the ground next to the waterbed and remained upright.

"Alexis was a brave and model soldier to the very end… and a dear friend to all of us. So I ask you all now to join me in one more salute to the bravest girl I have ever known!" Avan shouted. He then turned on his heels and with his eyes looking straight down at Alexis' shining sword; he raised his right hand up and gave a farewell salute to her.

All of the class, lined up along the edge of the waterfall in rows, then raised their right hands up next to the corner of their brows and gave one last long salute to Alexis.

After a few seconds of silence, Avan lowered his hand and everyone else followed suit. He then turned on his heels and looked at the rest of the class, "We still have a mission to fulfill… so let us move on and get these Darcsen refugees to safety. Class G, move out!"

The entire class then began to leave, but Cosette and Zeri happened to look back and see Avan once again kneeling next to the edge of the waterfall and looking down. They both returned to him, Cosette placing her hand on Avans shoulder, Zeri crossing his arms and sighing.

"Alexis and I… didn't even get a chance to work things out. We left on a bad note…."

Cosette shook her head, "No, you didn't. I saw you two share one moment of laughter and go back to the way you were before. Though brief, I'm sure she left with no hard feelings towards you at all."

Zeri nodded, "Alexis saw you risk your own life to save hers when you jumped into the raging river. I'm sure she's thankful that you tried your best to save her..."

Avan stood back up and turned to Zeri and Cosette, "Come on, let's get these people to safety. Otherwise… her sacrifice will have been for nothing."

Zeri nodded and turned to Cosette and with a wave of his head, the two left. Meanwhile, Avan turned and gave one last looked down at Alexis' sword and said, "I'll miss you, Alexis…"

Avan then left and ran to catch up with the others.

* * *

An hour later Class G and their refugees were exiting the Leanbluff woods and were met by Class D from Lanseal academy. The class chair then walked up to Avan and the two shook hands, though Avans face was still devoid of emotion.

"Your new orders are to head back to Lanseal. We'll take over your refugees and see them through the rest of the journey." Class Ds chair said.

Avan nodded, "Thanks…"

"W…we heard about what happened to one of your class mates and we're sorry to hear that. It's never easy to lose a classmate, especially after you've attended class and fought in battle together for so long."

Avan nodded, then turned to the rest of Class G, "Come on, guys… Let's go home."

* * *

All of Class G was quiet when they entered the academy at nightfall. Once they were in their classroom, they all crowded around the squads roster on the whiteboard next to the storage lockers. Everyone knew what had to be done, but no one wanted to do it.

Cosette looked over at Avan; his head was still hung low. After a few silent moments, Cosette stepped forward and said, "I'll do it…"

Avan then snapped back to reality, "No… I'll do it. I'm the Class chair."

Avan stepped forward, took eraser and marker from the board and erased Alexis' name from the active duty status. Then with a trembling hand, he moved across the board, over the WIA or 'Wounded in Action' box, then over the MIA or 'Missing in Action' box and finally, hovered over the KIA or 'Killed in Action' box.

Some of the students began to cry softly, others hugged or held their friends close, until finally, Avan wrote **'A-L-E-X-I-S'** in the KIA box, dropping the marker as soon as it was done. He nearly fell over but was caught by Zeri.

Avan steadied himself, then laid his forehead against the board and he sighed, "We've never had a death in our class before… we've had accidents, people wounded in battle… but never a death."

"I tried to warn you," Inghild said from the back of the crowd, "His word is absolute, there was no escaping her fate."

Cosette was about to stomp towards her, but Zeri grabbed her and stopped her, but she still shouted, "Then you ask him! Why? Why did 'He' feel that someone so good had to die?

Alexis was one of the best in our class. she was always kind, generous, selfless and brave. Why was she selected to die?"

Inghild shook her head, "I do not know… for I do not question his word. I am simply his servant, his messenger that conveys his prophecies."

"Was it because Alexis bumped into you and spilled her tray all over one of his servants, is that why she was selected? To be punished?"

Everyone remembered that day, and now Sofia began to back away towards the door, "I'm going to give you a much wider berth from now on, Inghild. And if you have any messages or prophecies for me, keep them to yourself!"

Everyone then began to disperse from the whiteboard, some leaving the class, others talking to their friends. Inghild was near the window, looking out at the starry sky and praying with her hands clasped together.

As Avan left the class and then the school, he was stopped just outside by Professor Brixham, "Avan, can you spare a moment?"

"What is it, Brixy?"

"I heard about what happened today and if you want to take a few days off, I will authorize it. You ever close to Alexis, correct?"

Avan wanted to scream and yell at Brixham for not listening to him when he wanted her pulled from the mission. But decided that it would not be what Alexis wanted, so he just responded with, "No, I'll be back as Class chair tomorrow morning. Alexis wouldn't want me to quit, so I'll keep going, for her sake."

"Alright, but if you don't feel up to it, there are others who can take over."

"Thanks, Brixy…" Avan then returned to his room, laid in his bed and stared up at his ceiling, thinking about his friend, Alexis and all the times they had together. Not long after, he was finally able to fall asleep; dreading what the situation in classroom would be like tomorrow.

* * *

Back at Leanbluff woods, a few miles downriver from the waterfall, crickets chirped, frogs croaked and owls hooted. The once roaring rapids were now replaced by gentle running water, and, in a pile of drift wood in a small outlet, a young grey haired girl moaned. Her beaten and battered body was held slightly out of the water by the floating logs and branches they held, allowing her head to remain above water.

Very slowly, Alexis' eyes began to open and her entire body ached, her head throbbed and she felt quite weak. She raised her head and looked around, only to find that she was alone and now in shallow, gentle water… she had survived the fall and the rapids, but how?

Her fathers training and her soldiers instincts then kicked in and she moved very slowly towards the shore. Luckily, her feet touched the bottom of the riverbed as soon as she dropped her legs. She limped onto land and towards the edge of the nearby forest and plopped down, utterly soaked to the bone and shivering from the night's cold air.

A quick look down at her uniform showed that much of her armour was either dented or missing, probably from the ride downriver. Good thing for her that she had so much of it to protect her body, otherwise her injuries would have been far more extreme.

She touched her head and it stung, looking down at her hand she saw a small amount of blood. Slight head wound… that must have been why she was knocked out for so long, thankfully a quick check of her other limps showed that nothing was broken.

She touched her hip and found her pouch to still be attached. Alexis then took it off and emptied its contents onto the ground and went through it to see what she still had left. She found a personal first air kit with one ragnaid capsule inside, a flint and striker, bayonet, and a tiny pouch of rations, the barest of bare essentials. But she wasn't complaining.

Within the next twenty minutes, she dug a pit in the ground, gathered twigs and other kindling and lit a small fire, constantly feeding it with bigger and bigger branches until it was of fair size. Now, she wouldn't freeze to death and had a chance to dry off her soaked clothing that she had laid nearby.

Over the next hour, next to the light of the fire, she tended to her wounds with her first aid kit. Cleaning the cuts and bandaging them, using the ragnaid capsule to heal the gash in her head, and anything else that needed tending to.

Now, as Alexis sat by the fire, she found a suitably straight and long branch and quickly began to whittle it into a spear. A very crude weapon, but given the absence of anything better, it would do.

* * *

As she was doing this, not far upstream, the V3 lay on its back. The blue glow from its power source was gone. But a gasp from within came as the pilot regain consciousness. But, without power, the suit was useless. So, he quickly climbed out of the suit and looked it over.

"It's first combat trial run and it's ruined… Baldred is going to have my head for this…"

His head then turned down river and in the distance there was an orange glow among the darkness of the night. He ran back to his V3 suit and opened a rear compartment, then took out a hunting knife and a 9mm handgun and set out towards it, quietly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alexis finished her spear and tapped the end lightly with her finger to test the point and it was indeed, very sharp. She then set her spear down and checked her wet clothes, thankful to find that at least her pants were dry. So she quickly put those back on and tightened her belt when-

"Freeze! Put your hands up!"

Alexis' eyes turned down to her spear on the ground, but decided against it. She didn't know how many were behind her. So she put her hands up and stood still.

"Turn around!"

Alexis did so and came face to face with a lone rebel, a quick scan of the area showed that he was alone, just as she was.

"No way… it can't be…" The rebel said, slowly walking towards her while aiming his handgun at her head.

"Stand over by the fire," he ordered.

Alexis sidestepped towards the fire and one step back from it, placing herself just right.

"I remember you now… you're the one who knocked us into the river and ruined my one and only chance to successfully prove the V3s combat capabilities, isn't that right, boy."

His eyes then looked over his prisoner, the two bumps on 'his' chest confused him, "What wrong with you, boy? You're too skinny to have man-boobs."

Alexis shook her head, "Perhaps that is because I am not a man."

"What? You're saying that I was beating by a girl… no way…"

"Want me to prove it?"

A smile spread over his face, with a quick tip of his handgun, he ordered, "This I've got to see. Take off your shirt!"

Alexis pretended to nervously rub the toe of her boot into the ground while putting on a shy act, but what she was really doing was getting her toe under the nearest branch sticking out of the fire pit.

"Do it!"

Alexis sighed and quickly lifted off her shirt, now standing in her white bra and glaring at the rebel. His eyes opened up wide, his mouth a gap and that was when he lowered his gun.

"This is a surprise… to have been beaten by a gir-"

Alexis took advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration and kicked her leg high in the air, branches still aflame, coals and embers flying towards the enemy and striking him. He cried out in pain as he was burned all across his face and body, then looked angrily back up to where his female prisoner was. But, she was gone, some disturbed branches and bushes were rustling, showing where she had taken off into the woods.

Determined not to let the girl who defeated him get away and to get some form of revenge, he took off after her.

"No use running, girl! You've got no chance in hell of getting away from me this time!"

After some running, he stopped to check the surrounding wooded area. He only looked for less than a minute when he heard a girl scream from above. Just as he looked up, he saw something come sailing right towards him, then impact right against his shoulder.

He groaned and fell back against the nearby tree and looked down at his shoulder, only to find a spear sticking out. Now furious, he broke the spear just a few inches from where it was sticking out of his shoulder and threw the other half away.

"It's going to take more than a sharpened twig to stop me!" He roared, then aiming his gun up into the trees and fired all nine rounds while screaming like a madman and spinning in a circle.

By some stroke of luck, a girl came falling out of one of the trees and hit the ground hard, clutching a grazed arm and crying out in pain. He attempted to reload, he was able to get the new magazine in, but wasn't able to pull the slide back and load a round. Alexis had gotten back up quicker than he expected and charged right at him, bayonet now clutched in her hand.

He dropped his gun and caught her by the wrist as she attempted to stab him, then grabbed her by the throat with his other hand and slammed her back against a tree and lifted her off the ground while squeezing with all his might.

Alexis' free hand wrapped around his wrist, trying to pry it off of her throat as she wheezed and gagged. He was just too strong for her, the end looked near. Her eyes then looked down at the broken spear tip, still lodged inside his shoulder. She then reached down and slammed her palm against it, pushing it in even deeper.

He roared in pain, and then threw Alexis hard to the side and she crashed to the ground and rolled a short distance, then got back to her feet. She looked up and saw him charging at her like a bull and she tried to stab him once again, but this time he skilfully grabbed her by the hand and arm. With his brute strength, he painfully twisted her wrist around, so that now her bayonet blade was pointing at her stomach, and then pushed it into her flesh as she screamed.

Luckily, it entered in near the side of her stomach and didn't hit anything vital, but it still hurt like hell. But, he was close enough to her now that she thrust her knee up and hit him right in the groin. As he backed away, Alexis pulled the bayonet out and clutched her now heavily bleeding wound. Tired and injured, she fell on her back, then rolled on her side and remained still.

The rebel was holding his groin and breathing angrily, as he recovered, he reached back and pulled out his long hunting knife and started towards Alexis.

"Playtimes over… time to die!"

Alexis then rolled onto her back, holding his pistol, "Yes, time to die!"

The pistol aimed at him, didn't stop him from charging at her and yelling like a madman. Alexis pulled the trigger as fast as she could while screaming as well. The bullets struck him in the stomach and chest, but he didn't even slow down, knife hand still high in the arm.

His body then fell on top of hers, but she caught his wrist in her hands and stopped him from stabbing her again. When he didn't move or breath anymore, she knew that she had successfully killed him. The problem now was that she was trapped by the weight of his massive body pushing against hers, pinning her to the ground. She groaned and moaned in pain from the wounds she received and the dead weight against her injured body.

That was when she heard it, distance voices, "Over here! The gunshots came from this direction!"

Alexis froze, "More rebels?"

She then tired unsuccessfully to get the dead V3 pilot off of her, but the voices were getting closer, no escape now.

She gave up and let the body fall back on top of her and began to close her eyes, blacking out from the blood loss and pain. Outlines of black bodies circled all around her, their voices garbled and distorted as they spoke.

"Avan… I'm sorry…" Alexis said softly as she finally lost all consciousness.

* * *

The next day, back at the academy, Avan and the other students of Class G were sitting in silence in class, hardly paying attention to Professor Brixhams current lecture. Just then, there was a knock at the door and Brixham went to answer it. Avan looked up and noticed a female nurse whispering to him and for the first time, Avan actually saw Brixham open his eyes in surprise. He then quickly walked back to his desk and tapped the top with his pointer.

"Avan, come here, please."

Avan sighed and went to the front, "What did I do this time?"

Brixham then took him aside and whispered, "I'm just been told that… well… I think its best that you head over to the infirmary, as I just can't put what I've been told into proper words."

"The infirmary? Someone get hurt?"

"Just go, trust me."

Avan nodded and headed out of the classroom, hands in his pockets as he walked across the school grounds and finally entered the infirmary a few minutes later. He was surprised to find a nurse already waiting for him.

"Avan Hardins?" she asked.

Avan scratched the back of his head and nodded, "Yeah, that's me alright."

"Come with me." she instructed and began walking down the corridor, towards a room at the very end of the hall. Once she was at the door she turned to Avan, "You may visit for a few minutes, then she needs her rest."

"She?" Avan asked as the nurse moved and he looked into the room.

His eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, his heart beat a racing, "Alexis?"

Alexis, all bandaged up and only semi-conscious looked over and nodded, "Hey… Avan…"

Avan ran up to the side of her bed, collapsed to his knees and continued to stare down at Alexis in utter disbelief.

"It can't be… is this real?" he asked.

Alexis took his hand in hers, and then raised it and held it to her cheek, "Believe it… now…?"

Avan began to get teary eyed, "But I thought… we all thought that you had died…"

Alexis shook her head, "No… I survived the fall… and then the fight… I was also lucky that a passing army patrol came and found me afterwards."

"Fight?"

"The V3 pilot also survived… we got into a scuffle downriver from the falls. But just as our previous fight before, he just couldn't beat me."

"Alexis… I'm so sorry about before."

"No, I should be the one apologizing… you tried to apologize and I wouldn't let you. But, when I was alone, wounded and felt like I was dying, my only regret was that I had hurt you so much by not accepting your apology."

"It's nothing, really. Let's just forget all about what happened before and go back to the way we were. I know now that it shouldn't have mattered whether you were a guy or girl, you've proved yourself to be one heck of a soldier and capable of so much! Heck, you're tougher than most guys I know-"

"Avan..."

"What?"

"Keep it short, please... my head hurts..."

Alexis then began to raise her hand; Avan took her hand without being told what to do, "Friends?"

Avan chuckled, "Yes! We're friends!"

The nurse then broke up the moment, "Alright, times up. The girl needs to rest; she's got a long road to recovery."

Avan didn't want to leave, but Alexis patted Avans' hand, "You can go, Avan. I'm not going anywhere, not yet. I promise."

Avan nodded, "Alright, I'll come see you as soon as I can!"

"And Avan… let the others know, but gently, ok?"

"You got it!"

A few moments later, Avan burst into the classroom, leapt up onto Brixhams desk and screamed, "Alexis is alive! SHE'S ALIVE!"

There was a moment of silence, before everyone all at once leapt up from their desks, tossing their books, binders and in the case of some, their hats into the air and cheered. Some people hugged each other, others cried, like Raymond, who turned into a slobbering mess as tears and snot flowed down his face.

* * *

The next day, the entire class went to visit Alexis in the infirmary. She looked much better today as she was now sitting up and smiling at everyone. One by one, everyone welcomed her back in their own ways by hugs, handshakes, pats on the back or 'Get well soon' cards.

There were a lot of tears, happy tears and everyone made Alexis tell them the story over and over again of how she rescued Magari and the Darcsen children, survived the waterfall and lived to fight the V3 pilot and beat him one-on-one.

Finally, Avan said, "So, I guess we're going to have to go all the way back to the Leanbluff woods and get your sword back, right?"

"You still have it?" Alexis inquired.

"Well, we left it back at the spot where we thought that we lost you. As a memorial marker."

"Alright, as soon as I am able, we'll set out to retrieve it." Alexis said.

"But, before that, I have another request…" Alexis looked embarrassed, "I'd like to learn how to swim, would you all be willing to teach me?"

Cosette laughed and said, "Of course! That means we'll have to get you a bathing suit, maybe even a bikini!"

"Are you going to pick out the color?" Alexis asked with a smile.

Sofia smiled, "Nah, I'll help you out with that."

"I never learned to swim through all of my youth and teen years. Father wanted a son, so when he got a girl, he just raised me as if I were a boy. That made things quite difficult for me when I wanted to visit the local pool… I had no idea what to wear. A t-shirt and shorts or a one piece bathing suit, both didn't feel quite right. So I avoided going at all, thus came my problem of never learning to swim.

All the time, I didn't think it would ever become a problem. I've never been more scared in my life than when I was sailing down those rapids, no idea how to swim…"

"Don't worry, we'll teach you so that it'll never be a problem again!"

Zeri smiled and said, "Well you guys, lunch break is almost over. We should be heading back to class pretty soon."

Having already said his welcome backs and all that, Zeri left the room and started down the hallway. That was when he came upon Inghild, for some reason she was in her armour tech uniform and it was covered in mud and grass stains. He looked down at her hands and saw her holding something wrapped in a blue blanket.

"Mr. Zeri, if you would please help me with something."

"Sure, what is it?" he asked.

"See to it, that this is returned to Ms. Alexis," she said while passing the object to Zeri. He pulled down the top and spotted a shiny blade hidden inside.

"Is this?"

Inghild nodded and turned her back to him, "Yes, it is Ms. Alexis' sword. I set out to retrieve it for her…"

She then started to walk away, but stopped after just a few steps, "I admit… I find it strange that my most recent prophecy did not come to pass. For his word is never wrong…"

"Well, think of it this way. We all believed that she had passed away, even held a ceremony for her… so in all of our minds, she was dead."

"Hmmm… I see… that is one explanation anyway…" Inghild then departed from the infirmary, while Zeri walked back into Alexis' room.

"I have something here for you," Zeri said while holding out the blanket covered object. She took it and removed the blanket and stared down at her sword, she closed her watery eyes and nodded to Zeri.

"Thank you…"

Zeri shook his head, "Don't thank me… thank Inghild, she went all the way back to the Leanbluff woods this morning to retrieve it for you. I think… as a sign of her apology to you and all of us."

Alexis smiled, "I hold nothing against her, and should any of you see her, tell her I say 'Apology accepted.'"

Avan smiled, "You got it! Now, focus on getting better, there's so many things that we need to do once you're better!"


	5. Marion Seighban: The Golem

**The Golem and The Noble, Rich Girl**

* * *

Class's C, D and G were already on the move in a large convoy of tanks, soldiers and trucks to secure a weapons depot that was recently discovered by a Class F scouting party from Lanseal academy. No one really knew what the base had inside of it, but it was said to have looked like it was evacuated in a hurry as much of the weapons and gear were left behind by the rebels.

Avan was riding on top of Class G's tank when he happened to notice Marion, Class G's weapons freak. He smirked and hopped off of the tank and strode over to her.

"What's up, Marion?" Avan asked cheerfully.

"Oh, I think you know what's up!"

"Yeah, I figured that you'd be the most excited one here. Soon you'll have a whole weapons depot to search through, and then you'll get your hands on all types of rebel weaponry."

"I know! I can't wait to get there!" Marion squealed in glee, "Who knows what we'll find!"

Marching across the road from them were Zeri and Mischlitt. Zeri shook his head, then whispered to Mischlitt, "I'd hate to see the look on her face when she realizes that the plan is to destroy most of the depot and its weapons. While only taking the top weaponry for research."

"She'll be heartbroken, I'm sure of it." Mischlitt whispered back.

Something else happened to catch Zeri's ear, "Class F scouting party, this is the Class G representative speaking, can you hear me?" Magari said into a 'walkie talkie' handset, shaped like a telephone receiver.

After a few moments, Magari repeated her message, and again got no response from the Class F scouts. She shrugged her shoulders at Franca, who was riding on top of the tank with her. Wanting to know more about the current situation, Zeri climbed aboard the tank and knelt down in front of Magari.

"What's wrong, Magari?" Zeri asked.

"I've been in radio contact with Class F's scouts all morning. But just moments ago, they stopped transmitting. There's been nothing but static on their channel and it's worrying me…"

"This is cause for concern… Perhaps the base wasn't as abandoned as they had originally reported." Franca added.

"Avan! Get up here!" Zeri called over his shoulder. Avan quickly climbed aboard the tank and reported to Zeri. But before Zeri could tell him about the new situation, the base was coming into view. There were a few tiny trails of black smoke were rising from within the compound.

"What's wrong, Zeri?" Avan asked.

"We've just lost contact with the scouting party from Class F. However, judging from the sight up ahead, I think the Rebels have returned and possibly wiped them out..."

Now, the convoy came to a halt. The transport trucks pulled to the side of the road and let the troops out of the back. The tanks moved to the head of the column and the troops from all the combined classes spread out all across the road and nearby fields in battle lines. Then, slowly and cautiously, they moved towards the base.

As soon as the tanks rolled over the perimeters chain linked fences, knocking them down so the soldiers could get in, they were fired upon by a small rebel force. Strangely, it was only composed of shock troopers, scouts and a few lancers. Those of which popped out of the nearby buildings and cover from behind crates, pallets or from around storage sheds. All opened fire with their weapons on the Lanseal forces.

All the classes combined, outnumbered this force by three to one and they were very easily pushing them back as they moved through the base. Finding sufficient cover, firing at the Rebels and then moving ahead when it was safe to do so. Their push was fast, their push was easy and somehow, the Rebels didn't really seem to be trying to hold them back.

Something about this battle seemed all too easy. The Rebels would only fire enough to suppress the students, then retreat back a small distance and repeat this process. By this time, the cadets were in the middle of the base and still pushing strong.

As Franca suppressed a small group of rebels with a full auto spray from her heavy machine gun, she got a very bad feeling within herself and happened to say, "Something… is… wrong…"

To her left, Marion, Magari and her brother Nichol were moving along side her, taking cover and firing at the swiftly retreating rebels.

Even with all of the gunfire, shouting, and other noises of the battlefield, Marion distinctly heard something else. It sounded like a whirring sound, growing in intensity from within the metal storage shed right next to her. It wasn't long before Franca, Magari and Nichol also heard it and turned their heads to the left and looked up at the sheds doors and windows.

Next, came a deafening bang sound as something from within struck the door and actually caused it to bent from the powerful blow. The sound of metal twisting and shrieking was agonizing on the ears as the doors continued to bend outwards with each thunderous hit the doors took.

By now, all the other cadets in the base had turned their heads towards the terrifying sound and saw the doors give even more.

Franca wasn't waiting to find out whatever manner of beast or monster lurked within. It had to be monstrously strong to be able to do that to a such a thick metal door. Nichol was frozen by fear, but Franca quickly grabbed him by the back of his jacket collar and began to tug him away.

Magari had just grabbed Marion by the arm and was about to do the same, but that was when there was one final powerful blow against the doors and they burst open. Next came something out of a sci-fi movie or from ones nightmares. It looked like a mammoth size blue glowing robot on two legs!

It had to be an artificial valkyria, judging by the glowing blue aura around it and the signature humming sound it made. But this one stood nearly 20 feet high, had two enormous armoured metal legs. It also had giant mechanical arms that ended with an enormous looking gun barrels. Underneath, there was a smaller barrel or nozzle with a hose running under the arm and towards the back. Last, but not least, there were two deadly looking fifty calibre machine guns on each forearm.

Everyone was frozen in place as they looked up at the artificial valkyria, standing perfectly still, like a statue. Then, with a deafening blast, it released a sound, similar to a fog or navy ship horn. It was so long and loud that everyone had to cover their ears with their hands. Some of the cadets standing closest groaned in pain and clenched their teeth together.

"Gah! Did that thing just… roar at us?" Avan shouted to Cosette, who was standing next to him.

"I don't know! What is that thing?"

Zeri rushed up to them, "Whatever it is, it definitely isn't one of ours… OPEN FIRE!" Zeri commanded to everyone around him.

Now, ignoring the other rebels up ahead, all of the classes and tanks turned their rifles, machine guns, lances and tank barrels towards the new enemy and opened fire. Glowing tracer bullets rained down upon it, smoking lancer rounds flew at it and exploded. The numerous tanks rolled forward while firing their tanks shells at it. The whole metal monstrosity disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke from the exploding rounds.

Everyone ceased firing and lowered their smoking weapons. Dozens of empty clips and magazines hit the concrete paved base grounds, hundreds of empty bullet cartridges clanked against the ground. Everyone quickly reloaded while they tensely waited to see what all that firing had accomplished.

Marion and Magari still hadn't moved from the ground after they hit the deck while all the rounds flew over their heads and into the mechanical beast. Slowly, they were starting to sit up and look towards the lingering smoke.

"Did we get it?" Magari asked.

"I don't know…" Marion replied, "But did you see all the weaponry that machine was covered with… it was fascinating!"

Suddenly, they felt the ground shake. Then again, and again. Each girl gasped as to their horror, the monstrous machine had survived and was lumbering towards them as it stomped out of the lingering smoke. Worst of all, it was barely even damaged and was starting to glow an even brighter blaze of blue flame. It then released yet another blast of sound, like a deafening fog horn.

The cadets then continued firing at the monstrous machine while taking backwards steps. The artificial valkyria responded by lowering its massive arms and took aim. Then came the sound that everyone feared. The steadily growing shrieking sound as both real and artificial valkyria in the past, charged up for a beam shot from their weapons. Only in this case, both ends of the massive barrels on either arm began to glow.

Marion looked back while screaming, "GET DOWN! NOW!"

The enormous artificial valkyria then fired its beams with its arms close together, then spread them out, like a book, dragging the steadily flowing destructive beams across the grounds. Dozens of soldiers and tanks were vaporized in its first act of returning fire.

When it stopped, much of the base was already destroyed, cadets from all the classes moaned from the ground or were attempting to climb back onto their feet.

A large group of ten scouts and shock troopers from Class D charged towards the mammoth machine as they screamed in rage, while firing up at it.

"Damn you!" one screamed.

"You killed my classmates!" another roared while firing a full auto blast from his machine gun.

The bullets bounced off the heavily armoured machine as it lowered its head and looked down at the small approaching force.

"Target locked… Firing…" it said in a slow mechanical sounding voice.

Luckily, Magari had grabbed Marion and pulled her away from the machine. Unfortunately, Marion happened to look over her shoulder as they ran and saw the machine fire actual 'blue flame' from its smaller nozzle flamethrowers and set the charging cadets ablaze. They screamed and dropped to the ground or ran around as they burned, terrifying the on-lookers from the other classes.

Seeing how outmatched even three whole classes were against this juggernaut of a machine, Avan cupped his hands against the sides of his mouth and screamed, "FALL BACK! EVERYONE! FALL BACK!"

Zeri did the same, "RETREAT! ALL CLASSES RETREAT!"

Most listened to the orders, turned on their heels and began to run for their lives. Others, either brave or foolish, stood their ground and continued firing. This included a tank from Class D as it rolled forward, firing its turret and machine guns up at the giant machine.

As the tank got closer, the artificial valkyria responded by drawing its large arm across its body and delivering a massive blow to the side of the tanks hull. The blow was powerful enough to actually lift the tank off the ground and send it crashing through a nearby storage shed. Then, compartments in the metal monsters 'shoulders' opened up, revealing long white missiles tubes with red tips. They slide out partially, then fired, leaving swirling smoke trails as they spun through the air and then destroyed the whole shed in a glorious fireball of destruction.

Large burning metal pieces of the shed rained down onto the retreating soldiers, crushing some and tripping others. Sadly, this included Marion, who had a large sheet of metal hit her and knock her down. Magari noticed that her hand was now empty as she ran, it had been holding onto Marion's just a moment ago.

She looked back and saw Marion struggling to get up, but was unable to as she fell back to the ground and laid still. Magari rushed back to her, while looking up at the goliath of a machine, now firing its wrist mounted machine guns at the retreating cadets, not seeming to notice her or Marion. Magari rushed back to Marion's side and knelt down beside her.

"Hang on, Marion! I'll get you out!" Magari shouted while trying to lift the metal sheet off of her.

"No… Magari…Save yourself…" Marion pleaded weakly, "I'm done for…"

"Don't say that! Don't give up!" Magari replied

Suddenly, sounds of shouting, cursing and cheering could be heard. Magari quickly looked up and saw some of the rebel soldiers were raising their weapons up and cheering at the sight of the retreating Lanseal forces. Others were charging towards Magari, Marion and the other retreating cadets, determined not to let them get away.

"Magari… It's alright," Marion said weakly, "You did everything you could. But please, save yourself, don't get killed for me."

Magari's eyes began to well up with tears. She then reached down and placed her hand against Marion's forehead, Marion reached up and placed her hands on top of Magari's.

Two tears fell from Magari's eyes as she looked down at Marion, "I'm sorry… Please forgive me…" Magari sobbed before she stood back up, turned and ran to catch up with the other retreating students, leaving Marion behind. It was a difficult decision, and one that Magari would have to live with.

* * *

A short while later, and with neither the monstrous machine or the rebels giving chase. The remaining students from each class regrouped a few kilometres from the weapons depot. A quick headcount revealed that out of the near 100 students, 30 had been killed or were missing. Class G had suffered the least amount of injuries and no one had been killed in the battle. But… they were one student short of a full headcount.

That was when Magari came up to the front, crying her eyes out and told Avan, Cosette and Zeri the sad story of how she was forced to leave Marion behind and how terrible she felt about it.

"Don't worry, Magari," Avan said as he hugged her, "None of us blame you for what happened."

"Those rebels… they laid a trap for us… and we walked right into it!" Zeri said, frustration in his voice.

"There was no way that we could have ever guessed that they were hiding such a new terrible weapon of war inside that weapons depot." Cosette said.

"But did you see that…" Franca said in disbelief, "W-we rained hell down upon it with bullets, lancaar rounds and tank shells and it barely even made a dent in it."

"It's not the first time that the Rebels have come out with a superior looking weapon of war… and we've always managed to beat them, somehow!" Avan said confidently. "We'll beat that monster of a machine, then get Marion back to us! I just know it!"

"But, we're undermanned, Avan," said Zeri, "We need more tanks, artillery, soldiers and special equipment here before we mount any sort of rescue mission."

"Right, I'm on it!" said Avan as he leapt up onto the tank and got on the radio with the Academy, requesting reinforcements.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the weapons depot. Rebel soldiers were scouring the area, rounding up any dead bodies and piling them high. Their weapons were stacked like tepees next to the mounds of bodies. In the middle of the base, General Gilbert Gassenarl, Commander Baldren Gassenarl and a man with long black hair, thick framed black glasses and a white lab coat were surveying the damage done by the new V4, codenamed 'Golem'.

"S-so, what do you think, sir?" the scientist with glasses asked, "Q-quite impressive if I do say so myself!"

"Dr. Von Essen, today I saw more troops scatter and successfully retreat, than were killed here in the base by your 'Golem' creation. So no, I'm not too impressed about this little demonstration of yours." Gilbert replied as he walked with his hands behind his back.

"A few squads of my V2s could have successfully ensnared then, cut off their retreat and killed them all much quicker than this lumbering beast, Father." Baldren said, not sounding too impressed either.

"B-but I've made vast improvements since my last prototype, have I not?" Dr. Von Essen replied, "I'll admit my own failure, sir. Yes, the V3 was not as combat effective as I had originally hoped, sir."

"You won't always get a drop on your enemy like you did today. Not with a huge machine like this, Golem, Dr. Von Essen." Baldren pointed out. "It's far too big, bulky and slow moving… I don't like it, Father."

"Baldren has a point. What good is all this power, durability and weaponry if can't catch its enemy. Worst of all, was the fact that even those Lanseal peasant soldiers on foot were much faster than this machine of yours and able to outrun it." Gilbert said, now sounding even more unimpressed.

"W-well sir, I could make more improvements, if only you'd give me more funds for research, development and building supplies-"

"More?" Gilbert roared, "Do you know how much time, money and man hours we've spent on this hunk of junk V4 and your failed V3 project! And now you're asking for more! The nerve!"

"W-well, sir, with more tests I'm sure that we could-"

"General! We found a survivor!" A soldier called out.

"Now there's a survivor from your Golems rampage? Pathetic!" Gilbert said while shaking his head. He then headed off with Baldren to see this so called 'survivor'.

"Fools… both of them… They have no idea what something like this Golem can become. It may very well surpass the tank as the main armoured vehicle on the battlefield!" Dr. Von Essen said to himself. He then headed off to catch up with the General and his son.

A short while later, Gilbert and Baldren came upon the lone survivor. A green haired female cadet from Lanseal Academy. She was still pinned under a large sheet of metal. Her breathing was soft and steady, but she was unconscious when they arrived.

Gilbert turned to Dr. Von Essen while shaking his head and said, "It appears that she was untouched by your Golem. A mere piece of sheet metal is what took her out."

"Let me correct that mistake, sir!" Dr. Von Essen said. He then reached down to his lab coats pocket and pulled a large radio out and raised it to his lips, "Golem! To me!"

The huge Golem then stomped across the base, shaking the ground with each step it took. The thumping and shaking managed to wake Marion from her state of unconsciousness. She gave her head a shake and moaned. As gasped once she looked up, she saw that she was surrounded by rebels soldiers. But what surprised her the most, was that General Gassenarl and his son, Commander Baldren were there in front of her as well. Her attention was suddenly turned to the gigantic artificial valkyria, coming ever closer to where she was lying trapped.

"You might want to back up, sir. This could get messy." Dr. Von Essen advised as he backed up with the rest of the soldiers that were circled around Marion.

The huge machine then stopped in front of Dr. Von Essen and looked down at him. The doctor smiled, raised the radio to his mouth and said, "Golem! Crush this pathetic insect beneath your foot!"

The Golem turned, then took two more steps and was now in front of Marion. She looked up at it and her breathing increased from terror and the thought of imminent death.

The Golem then slowly raised one leg up and brought it overtop of Marion, ready to crush her. That was when Marion covered her head and emitted the loudest, shrillest shriek of terror imaginable. Next came something unexpected. The Golems head turned side to side and it paused with its leg still in the air, not crushing the helpless girl under its foot as ordered.

Gilbert was watching with his arms crossed, "Hmph, what's the problem, Doctor?" he asked, "Why does he hesitate?"

"My V2s would never hesitate, Father. They'd carry out their orders swiftly and without question." Baldren said.

Dr. Von Essen fumbled with the radio, then managed to press the talk button, "Crush her! Do you hear me? I ordered you to crush this girl!"

Marion was sobbing uncontrollably under the Golems foot, her trembling hands still covering her head. But the Golem wasn't moving, it still had its foot hovering just a few feet above her. Then… it spoke: "…No…"

Gilbert and Baldren laughed together at the whole thing, "Did he just refuse your orders? This Golem is looking less and less like a worth while investment, and you know what that means!"

Dr. Von Essen cursed, then threw the radio to the paved ground and shattered it into a dozen small pieces. He then turned to General Gassenarl and with his hands cupped together, pleaded, "Please, sir… D-don't kill me! I know I failed you once with the V3 prototype. But I can fix this! Just give me some more time! I'll find out what the problem is, honest!"

Gilbert stroked his beard while he thought, then said, "Very well… But this is your last chance. Fail me again and I'll have you executed and all of your family thrown in prison. Your estate and all its property will be confiscated and given to my son and daughter. Understood?"

Dr. Von Essen trembled, adjusted his glasses and quickly nodded his head, "Y-yes sir… I-I'll see to it personally!"

Gilbert looked at Baldren, smirked and shook his head. The two then left the area, along with their soldiers, providing escort for the General and his son.

Meanwhile, Dr. Von Essen was pacing back and forth, running a hand through his sweaty hair and getting more worked up by the minute. He then looked up at the Golem and shouted, "Golem! Get over here!"

The Golem removed its foot from its hovering position over Marion, then walked up to the Doctor and loomed over him as it looked down at him.

"What the hell was that?" Dr. Von Essen screamed, "I gave you a direct order and you disobeyed me!"

The Golem remained silent, Dr. Von Essen then clapped his hands together, "I got it! You were confused right? From the battle! That has to be it!

Yes, yes! All that firing, getting hit and the new experience of it all must have done something to your circuits."

Again the Golem didn't reply, it simply turned its large mechanical head in the direction of Marion and looked down at her, silently.

Two of Dr. Von Essen assistants appeared from the nearby research facility. One was a brown haired female with a ponytail. Also wearing a lab coat, red glasses, and a black buttoned silk shirt and black skirt. She smiled and asked, "Sir! Was the test a success? Was the General impressed?"

Dr. Von Essen shook his head, "Hardly…"

The other assistant, a male wearing a lab coat, blue buttoned shirt, black pants, glasses and sporting short spiked black hair asked, "What happened, sir?"

"More of the enemy escaped than were killed by our Golem, that didn't impress the General. And just now, he refused my orders to kill this girl here." Dr. Von Essen said while pointing at Marion, who was still pinned under the sheet of metal.

"Was it a malfunction, sir?" the female assistant asked.

Dr. Von Essen shook his head and adjusted his glasses a few times out of a nervous habit, whenever he got worked up. "I don't know…" he said, "But we're going to explore all the options… Get him back to the research facility!" Dr. Von Essen ordered, but he stopped as his gaze fixed on Marion, "Bring the girl, too!"

"The girl? Why?" the male assistant asked.

"Like I said, we need to explore all the options. One has to include finding out why he refused to kill her. Maybe there's a reason behind it!" Dr. Von Essen said as he walked next to his huge Golem on their way back to the research facility.

Both of the assistants looked at each other, shrugged, then lifted the sheet of metal off of Marion and helped support her while they began to walk back to the lab. Marion was took weak to resist, or even talk for that matter. So she simply allowed them to take her.

* * *

Marion was then thrown into a small holding cell within the research facility. Dr. Von Essen looked at her, turned to his two assistants and ordered, "Check her. Remove any dangerous weapons or objects."

"Yes, sir!" Both assistants said.

But the male assistant hesitated and bit his lower lip, the female assistant noticed and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Dr. Klaus. I'll do it. I know you're not good at handling women!"

The female assistant then quickly removed all of Marion's armoured pads from her shock trooper uniform. Then patted Marion's pockets and pouches, taking items out along the way. Marion's wallet, ID card, and a few personal items were scattered all over the floor by her feet. The female assistant then check for her dog tags, but happened to lift two items out from under her shirt. One were her dog tags, the other was a gold pendant in the shape of a fancy cross.

That was when Marion grabbed her by the hand, "Please! Take anything you want! But don't take this… It's special to me."

"You heard the doctor… everything must go."

"Please…" Marion pleaded with sad puppy dog eyes.

The female assistant grunted, and looked over her shoulder while biting her bottom lip. The Doctor and Dr. Klaus had their backs to Marion and her. They were too busy going through sheets of data collected by the Golems first battle experience.

Quickly, the female assistant tucked Marion's pendant back under her shirt, "Here!" she said while patting Marion on the chest.

Marion breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you… Miss?"

"Isabella… Doctor Isabella." Isabella replied.

"Yes, thank you, Isabella…"

Dr. Isabella smiled, then closed Marion's cell door and reported back to Dr. Von Essen, "Prisoner is secure, sir."

"Yes, yes, but you need to take a look at this!" Dr. Von Essen said as he shoved a clipboard in front of Isabella's face.

"There was a spike of brain activity a few minutes ago. Was the pilot given his shots today?" Dr. Von Essen asked.

"Yes sir, right on schedule. Exactly twenty-four hours from the last injection."

"Then why was there a spike in activity? Those shots were supposed to suppress all emotions and memories except for his battle field experience as a General!"

"I don't know sir. He's never responded this way before." Isabella said.

"Perhaps it has something to do with that girl over there, sir. You said before that he refused to kill her, but not the others. Doesn't that seem a little odd?" Dr. Klaus offered.

"Perhaps…" Dr. Von Essen said while stroking his chin.

"Dr. Isabella, walk the prisoner over to the Golem. We'll keep an eye on the monitors to see if there's anymore activity." Dr. Von Essen instructed.

Isabella nodded, quickly got Marion out of her cell and walked out onto the platform and over to the Golem, stopping just in front of its 'head' and then backing away as Marion remained.

The Golem hadn't moved since it entered the research facility, but once Marion appeared, its head began to turn with a mechanical whirr and stared at her in silence. Inside the small lab, Dr. Von Essen and Dr. Klaus were watching a series of monitors for any strange activity. Suddenly, alarms began to beep and there was another huge spike in brain activity from the pilot.

Unexpectedly and without being ordered to, the huge Golem took a step towards Marion. She quickly backed up in fear, but bumped into the railing behind her. Then, something occurred that she couldn't have ever expected to happen in a million years.

"Mmmm… Marion?" a mechanical voice from the Golem asked.

Marion gasped, "H-how do you know my name?"

The Golems head turned from side to side, "Hmmm… Unclear… All of it… Clouded"

Meanwhile, the Golems monitors were beeping out of control, small sirens began to wail from within the observation area.

"This. Is. Impossible!" Dr. Von Essen screamed in frustration, "The pilot isn't supposed to be speaking on his own, nor able to recall any past memories! He's a failure if he does!"

"Calm down, sir. Let's see where this goes." Isabella said as she continued to watch.

"Marion… Seighban… Gaahhh!" The Golem cried in pain. It suddenly became unsteady on its feet. Its huge body then bumped into the platform that Marion was standing on and shook it violently. She cried out in fear and that was when the Golem grabbed the small swinging platform and stopped it, in what could only be described as a protective instinct or reflex for Marion.

Marion let go of the railing that she was holding onto and with her hands cupped over her mouth, she walked towards the Golem on shaky feet. Unable to believe that it knew her full name and acted to protect her just now.

The Golem was still groaning in pain, while inside the observation area, the doctors watched as his brain activity continued to spike rapidly on a scale that none of them had ever seen before.

"How can this be…? The Golem knows who she is! I thought all of his family and relatives were killed in the last war!" Dr. Von Essen cried as he pulled at his hair.

"Apparently not, he clearly had some relationship with this girl in the past, before he became our research subject." Isabella replied.

Outside, Marion was now on her knees, hands against the Golems large metal head, trying to comfort it.

Then, without being ordered to, Isabella pressed a button on the control panel and the clamps around the Golems head began to unbuckle. Once they were all off, the entire head hissed loudly, small puffs of pressurized air began to spew out all around the now opened head. Ever so slowly, the head began rising up.

Dr. Von Essen grabbed Isabella by the shoulders and began to shake her while screaming: "What is the meaning of this! I never gave you the order to-"

"Just watch, sir. If I'm correct, we'll know what the problem is soon enough." said Isabella, while prying Dr. Von Essen's tight grip from her shoulders. All the doctors then turned and continued to observe the ongoing situation between Marion and their Golem.

As the head raised completely out of the way, Marion cupped her hands over her mouth and shook her head furiously, "No… NO! It can't be!"

Now, the pilot was fully exposed. But, his arms and legs were gone, mere stumps were in their place. Each limb was cuffed by metal clamps, coils of wires and circuitry wrapped each arm and leg. The pilots body was covered in a black body glove, and had all manner of blinking lights, buttons and glowing, pulsing wires, tubes and cables covering his entire torso. His head was bald and bore what looked like a black headband with blinking lights. His face was horribly scarred from burns that must have once covered his entire face and possibly the rest of his body.

But, Marion alone was able to see past all of that. It was his eyes, his bright sky blue eyes that she recognized. The same ones that she remembered always looking up into as a child, whenever she sat on his knee.

"Uncle Caius!" Marion said with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Marion Seighban… I remember you…" Uncle Caius said with a weak, wheezy voice.

Though not her true uncle, he was her sworn godfather, the title given to him by her father when she was born.

"I thought you died in the last war, Uncle!" Marion cried as she reached out and softly held his cheeks in her hands. "What did they do to you?"

Uncle Caius closed his eyes, "It's hard to remember, child… All of it… It's like… a thick cloud of fog is wrapped around my mind…"

Across the room, Dr. Von Essen was tapping his fingers against his lips, his palms were sweating, "This is bad… This is very bad. How is he able to fight the serum and regain control of his memories and emotions!"

"I 'm not sure, sir. This isn't supposed to be happening!" Dr. Zev responded.

Dr. Isabella shook her head as she watched the two 'family' members being finally reunited, in a manner as cruel and tragic as this. It was at this time that a very deep sense of regret was beginning to build up inside of her.

Back on the platform, Marion was still crying and softly stroking her uncles cheeks with her hands.

"The last thing I remember was… rushing back home… to save you…"

Marion nodded, "Yes, I remember. You went against orders and returned to our mansion in order to get us to safety when the Imperials breached Randgriz with that Marmota ship of theirs."

"Then what happened?" Caius asked.

"We all got into the cars you brought, my family and your family." Marion said, she then lowered her head, "But…"

"But, what?"

"Your families car got hit by a tank shell shortly after we left the mansion and exploded, killing everyone inside. You looked devastated by the loss, but you stayed with us, determined not to let your best friend and your goddaughter get killed as well. We drove on, while you covered us with your tank and engaged our Imperial pursuers. But…"

"No more buts, child. Tell me…"

"Just when it looked like we were in the clear… your tank was hit by a series of enemy tank shells and rockets. It caught fire and burned, with you and your crew still inside.

I could hear you screaming from within… But once I tried to get out of the car to help you, father stopped me. He told me that if I got killed trying to save you, then your sacrifice would be for nothing…

Your screams stopped soon after and we had to leave… We got out of the city, but the price we paid was horrible! We survived, but my father lost his best friend, and I lost my godfather. "

Uncle Caius had his eyes closed the entire time, trying to remember, but could not. He shook his head and while groaning, said, "The agony of being burned alive must have wiped my memory clean of horrific events. Though you tell them, I have no recollection of any of those things ever happening."

"Oh Uncle, How did this happen to you!" Marion cried in heartbreak at the sight of her uncle, embedded into the Golem.

"I do not know, Child," Caius replied, "How I survived to become… this…"

A set of speakers crackled and screeched loudly. Dr. Von Essen's voice then came on, "Alright, times up. Time to get you back into your cell, young lady."

As Marion looked over, she happened to see Dr. Isabella already walking towards her and her uncle.

"Don't worry, we'll explain everything to your goddaughter. We won't hurt her, you have our word." Isabella reassured, "Your body must be feeling very weak by now. I'd imagine it's near impossible to remain awake, correct?"

Marion's uncle was fighting to stay awake, his eyelids were opening and closing much slower.

"You used up a lot of power today and your body is feeling the fatigue, the same as a battery that is running low would. You need to recharge, or in this case, sleep. Otherwise, you risk the possibility of shutting down… permanently." Isabella said.

Uncle Caius's eyes turned to Marion and she rubbed her hands together and then nodded, "It's alright, Uncle. Do as they say. I don't want to lose you again."

Caius nodded and the head compartment was already beginning to close as Marion and Isabella backed up and looked on. It soon sealed and the Golem backed up and entered a large section next to the wall. Large sets of mechanical arms and clamps began to close in all around it, then sealed around its limbs and torso. The Golem lights from within the cockpit turned off and it then lowered its head and arms and powered down. A soft humming rang throughout the building as the recharging section came to life and did its duty to restore the Golem to full power once again.

* * *

Marion was then led back to her small holding cell in the control room of the research facility. Once she entered her cell and the door locked behind her, she turned to face Dr. Isabella.

"How could you do that to my uncle! You monsters!" Marion shouted in anger.

Before Dr. Isabella could answer, Dr. Von Essen and Dr. Klaus returned, they had heard Marion's angry outburst.

"You're uncle was a willing participant," Dr. Von Essen explained, "We've done nothing that he didn't authorize when we explained it to him, long before we ever started the project."

"No! That's a lie!" Marion shouted while shaking the cell door.

"No, it isn't…" Dr. Isabella said, "He wanted to keep fighting, as that was all that he had left. To fight for Gallia in whatever way that he could."

"Fight for Gallia? He's not doing that now! He's fighting against her!" Marion continued angrily.

"The Gallia army would not allow our kind of research to be performed. But the GRA was all for it. Your uncle knew what the GRA's ultimate goal were, but still he volunteered for the procedure.

Thanks to him, we were able to construct this V4 prototype for the GRA. True, he may be fighting other Gallians right now. But this war is only temporary. Once it's over, and we successfully fix the problem with our V4, Gallia will have an army unlike any the world has ever seen.

Think of what this could mean for Gallia! Never again will we have to worry about invasion from another country… In fact, we may be able to invade the Federation or the Empire for a change. With the mighty V2s fighting along side our agile V3s and our unstoppable V4s. We'll make a fortune once our artificial valkyria are finally able to prove themselves!

We just need to find a way to make this Golem fight! There has got to be a solution to this problem!"

"Sir… I'm beginning to have second thoughts here…" Dr. Isabella said suddenly.

"What!"

"Sir… the V3 was a failure… and cost the life of a great pilot… our Zack. And now, the V4 is starting to remember who he once was and may not fight for us any longer. This project is doomed to failure, just like our V3.

And I signed onto this contract to find a way to protect Gallia with new, powerful weapons. No matter who owns it… The GRA or the Duchess with her army, we'd still be Gallians. But we'd still have to worry about invasion from either of our borders.

But I started under the promise that we'd only use volunteers for our tests. It looks like that girls uncle is also having second thoughts after he's seen who he'd be fighting."

"M-maybe she's right…" Dr. Klaus said, "If we force this man to fight against his, then what we're doing is bordering on being inhuman…"

"Dr. Isabella, what happened to Zack was of his own doing! He got cocky, as usual, and charged on ahead of the rest of the rebels. He got himself killed and took our machine with him! It's why we had to deaden the will of our V4, so that he would follow orders to the letter."

"Perhaps this miracle of him finding his goddaughter on the battlefield and coming back to his senses is a sign that we should quit while we still can, sir." Dr. Isabella warned.

"Agreed," Dr. Klaus added.

"Perhaps I didn't mention this… If we fail this time, we'll all be executed!"

Both Dr. Isabella and Dr. Klaus gasped and then looked lost in thought.

"Perhaps we deserve to die… for all of our failures and crimes against humanity that our work has produced."

"You may have nothing to lose!" Dr. Von Essen shouted as he pointed at Dr. Isabella, "You may have nothing to lose!" he shouted while pointing at Dr. Zev, "But I have my life and my legacy to lose! And I will not be remembered as an utter failure of a scientist, who had nothing to show for all his years of work!"

Now come with me! General Gassenarl is expecting results and we have to find a way to fix this problem with our Golem!" and Dr. Von Essen left the lab. Dr. Klaus looked at Dr. Isabella and shook his head, then left.

"You can't do this to my uncle… He's a good man. Please don't do this… please." Marion pleaded.

Dr. Isabella didn't look at Marion the whole time she said that, "The young pilot we lost, along with the V3... He was my friend… I talked him into volunteering to pilot the V3 in its first combat trial.

He gave his life for our work, so I have to see this through. Not for my sake, but for his and all those who died to get us to where we are today."

"Even if it means sacrificing your humanity in order to achieve it?" Marion asked, "You saw how my uncle refused to follow orders once he regained his memories. You can't force him to fight!"

"I have no choice…" Dr. Isabella said before she left the lab as well, leaving Marion screaming in angry protest and shaking the cell door.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few kilometres from the weapons depot, Class G and the remnants of Class C and D were awaiting reinforcements from Lanseal. Moments later, it appeared in the form of Class A, a convoy of tanks and multiple trucks, each towing an artillery gun.

Juliana was marching at the head of the column and Avan made his way over to her. Saluting her once he reached her, she returned the salute.

"So, what do you fools need help getting bailed out of this time?" Juliana asked.

Avan was about to speak, when Zeri approached and bumped him out of the way.

"We encountered a new type of artificial valkyria. A Colossus in comparison to the V2s and the previous V3 model, Juliana. Our small arms, lances and tank shells seemed ineffective against this machine of war."

"W-wha… Don't address me so casually, Darcsen! Show some respect, as we skipped a recon patrol to come help you out!"

"We're not on the academy grounds! We don't have time for proper etiquette at a time like this! Not when one of our classmates is in mortal danger, Juliana!" Zeri shot back.

Avan then returned and stood between them and pushed them apart, "Cool it! Both of you!" Avan shouted, "The more time we waste fighting amongst ourselves, the less chance we have of getting Marion back alive! Remember that!"

Juliana crossed her arms, "Hmph!"

Zeri rolled his eyes and held his hands on his hips, giving his head a shake as well.

Avan sighed, then asked "Did you bring the Anti-tank mines, Jules?"

"Yes, as many as our trucks could carry, why?"

"Set up the artillery guns and tanks on that hill over there," said Avan as he pointed behind them, "While Classes C and D are doing that, Class A will lay out the mines in a honeycomb pattern up ahead. Class G will head back to the depot once the mines are set and act as bait! Once we get that huge brutes attention, we'll fake a retreat and lead him back towards our mine field.

Hopefully, as it crosses the minefield, its legs will become disabled! Once he's down, we'll pound that SOB with all of our artillery, lances and tanks from a distance."

"Sheesh… you certainly are leaving a lot to chance and dumb luck, boy!" Juliana teased, "But, it's better than nothing I suppose…"

* * *

Back at the base, Dr. Isabella and Dr. Klaus were waiting for Dr. Von Essen to return with a so called 'Solution' to their problem.

Moments later he appeared with a large steel suitcase in hand and set it on the table. He nervously looked at both his assistants and said, "We need a bargaining chip to use against the V4, and the only solution is to use that girl."

"What are you talking about, sir?" Dr. Isabella asked.

Dr. Von Essen then opened the dual locks on the suitcase and it popped open. Inside were two syringes, and two large bottles. One containing a bright yellow liquid, the other a bright blue liquid.

Dr. Von Essen then took out the bottle with the yellow liquid and held it up, turning it around and around in his hand as he looked at it. He then took out one of the syringes and pierced the top cap with the needles tip and began to draw liquid into the syringes holding tube.

"No… you can't be serious!" Dr. Isabella exclaimed as she realized what he had in mind.

"What? What's going on?" Dr. Klaus asked.

Dr. Von Essen then tapped the middle of the syringe with his middle finger and sprayed a tiny amount out of the needles hollow tip.

"This needle contains a fast acting poison. Once injected, it'll only take… roughly fifteen minutes to work its way through that girls system and then kill her. Though fast, it'll be extremely painful and disorienting! "

He then capped the end of the needle and put it into an indent made for the needle inside the suitcase. He took out the blue bottle and drew liquid from it with the other syringe.

"This is the antidote. Once the poison begins to take affect, this is the only thing that will save her. We use the poison to break the will of the V4 and force him to submit to us, in exchange for giving his goddaughter the antidote before it's too late."

"Sir, this is murder!" Dr. Isabella protested.

"If the V4 doesn't submit and the girl dies, then the blood will be on the V4s hand, not ours!" Dr. Von Essen shot back.

"And what if he goes berserk afterwards or even during the negotiations, sir?" Dr. Klaus asked.

"General Gassenarl is already on his way, along with Commander Baldren and a squad of his V2 soldiers. We'll hold the negotiations in the research lab, with the doors sealed and a squad of V2s on deck.

The control room has bullet proof windows and an emergency blast shield that we can activate at anytime. But most of all, those blast doors leading out of the research lab are reinforced. There's no way he'll be able to get out if he ultimately refuses. The V2s will then take him out before he can cause any serious damage. It's a perfect plan, if I do say so myself!"

Dr. Isabella and Dr. Klaus remained silent as Dr. Von Essen closed the suitcase, took it off the table and held it in his right hand.

"It's either the girl, or us. General Gassenarl won't hesitate to kill us if we fail, so I want you to both remember that!"

Dr. Von Essen then left and was headed back upstairs to meet the General and his son at the front doors.

Just as Dr. Klaus was walking out, Dr. Isabella grabbed him by the arm.

"We can't do this! There's nothing human, or civilized about what we're about to do here!"

"I don't want to die… I'd rather live with the guilt that our work has caused me, than to die achieving nothing but failure after everything we've been through."

Dr. Klaus then headed back upstairs, Dr. Isabella shook her head, then followed them.

* * *

A short while later, Marion had been taken out of her cell and placed on the ground floor of the research lab. Her hands were cuffed and had a length of chain running to the floor, where it was secured in place. Dr. Isabella was standing next to her, Dr. Klaus on the other side. In one corner of the room, stood a V2. In the other corner, another V2. On the platform just overhead, stood three more. One final V2 stood guarding the now sealed blast doors, leading to the outer base.

Up above, in the control room, General Gilbert Gassenarl, Commander Baldren were silently watching as Dr. Von Essen was hurriedly flipping switches and pushing buttons on the control panel.

"What's the status of your Golem creation? Has the problem been solved?" Gilbert growled impatiently.

"I'll show you in a minute, sir." Dr. Von Essen said as he nearly finished the start up sequence.

He then grabbed a microphone from off the control panel and the outer speakers came on.

"Alright, Dr. Klaus… inject the prisoner!" he ordered.

Dr. Isabella then grabbed a hold of Marion's arms from behind and held her firmly. Dr. Klaus took the yellow liquid filled syringe from out of the suitcase, removed the safety cap and started towards Marion.

"What are you doing? Stay back! I hate needles!" Marion protested as she tried to back up, but was held in place by both the cuffs chained to the floor and by Dr. Isabella holding her from behind.

"Better hold still, otherwise who knows where this needle could end up…" Dr. Klaus warned.

Then, in a stabbing motion, he injected her in the side of the arm and pushed the plunger down hard. He quickly backed away as Marion screamed in pain.

"I'm sorry…" Dr. Isabella said as she let go of Marion and ran back to the table where the suitcase and antidote were waiting.

Up above, "What was that?" Gilbert asked.

"The solution to our problem." Dr. Von Essen said reassuringly.

He then finished the start up procedure and the mighty V4 came to life. The cockpit lit up and the whole machine started emitting hums and vibrations. The clamps around its arms, legs and midsection came loose and retracted back into the walls.

The ground shook as the V4 took a few steps to the center of the research lab floor. The poison was already having a rapid affect on Marion's body. She started to sweat profusely, her vision was blurring in and out of focus. She also felt unsteady on her feet as she moaned and swayed back and forth.

"Marion… what's going on?" Her uncle asked in his mechanical voice.

The outer speakers then screeched for a moment, before Dr. Von Essen's voice came back on, "We've injected her with a fast acting poison. And unless you submit to us, she'll be dead in less than fifteen minutes!"

"You bastards!" the Golem roared and it raised one of its arms and aimed its many weapons up at the control booth. Neither Gilbert nor Baldren even flinched, and instead they smiled. Dr. Von Essen, however, hit the deck and cowered under the control panel, before shouting,

"BUT! It need not be so! We have the means to save her. There's an antidote just waiting to be injected into her by my assistants. It'll completely reverse the affects of the poison and she'll be spared! What do you say?"

The V2s were already aiming their beam weapons up at the mighty golem and shuffling towards it with their shields held up as well. The Golem then lowered its arm with a whirring sound.

"What must I do to save her?" he asked in defeat.

"Submit to us! Swear your loyalty to us and never again refuse another order once it's been given. Only then, will we save your precious girl by giving her the antidote."

"No! Don't do it! Don't you dare swear to do as they command ever again, Uncle!" Marion shrieked. She then collapsed to her knees, fell forward on her hands. She held one hand against the side of her spinning, throbbing head and moaned in discomfort and pain.

"You haven't much time! Are you really going to let her die?" Dr. Von Essen asked over the microphone.

Dr. Isabella's hand never left its position of hovering over the antidote filled syringe as she watched tensely.

The Golem's head turned from Marion, up to the control room where Gilbert, his son and Dr. Von Essen were waiting for his answer. The Golem then turned back to Marion as she suffered silently, never showing how much pain she really was in.

The seconds ticked by like hours for everyone.

"We don't have time for this!" Gilbert growled, he then turned to his son, "Baldren, you know what to do!"

Baldren nodded and snatched away the microphone from Dr. Von Essen and shouted, "V2s! To the girl!"

The two V2s standing in either corner of the room, lowered their beam weapons, then swiftly stomped towards Marion and stood on either side of her.

"Now! On the count of Three! Tear her apart!"

They dropped their lances and shields, broke her chains and cuffs and each grabbed an arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dr. Isabella screamed up to the control room.

"It's taking too long for him to choose! Someone has to make him choose! Now!" Gilbert roared back.

Baldren then continued, "ONE!"

The V2s then began to pull in opposite directions, and Marion screamed in pain.

The Golem took a step towards Marion, but the other V2s cut him off, glowed even brighter and moved in closer, ready to attack at a moments notice.

"TWO!" And even tighter they pulled, some sickening creaking noises could be heard… Coming from within Marion's arms as her ligaments, tendons and bones continued to be stretched and were nearing their breaking point. She threw her head back and shrieked even louder. Tears of pain were streaming down from the corners of her eyes. Her face was drenched with sweat, as well as there being droplets of sweat dripping off the tips of her hair and onto the floor.

"STOP!" the Golem shouted.

Baldren halted his counting, but never removed the microphone from near his mouth. As well as keeping his other arm held up in the air, ready to bring it down after giving the final count.

"I submit… I submit!" The Golem shouted up to the control room.

Gilbert crossed his arms and smirked, Baldren laughed evilly. Dr. Von Essen clapped happily and jump up and down in pure joy, knowing his plan worked and he'd be spared from the threat of execution.

However, a tiny voice called out to the Golem, "…No…"

The Golem turned its head back to Marion, who was now looking back up at her uncle. Her still being held arms were shaking. Sweat was dripping off her face. Her jaw was clenched tightly and she was breathing heavily through of her nose. She was also holding back her tears as best she could.

"Don't… let them… control you… Uncle…" Marion pleaded through her clenched teeth.

"I have no choice…" The Golem replied, "I won't lose you like I lost everyone else in my life."

"If you… do this… I swear, I'll never… forgive you… Uncle," She warned with a weak voice. She continued to stare up at him with unblinking angry eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed and she was still breathing heavily through her nose.

"You're one count away from having two half-daughters!" Baldren warned, "Submit now!"

The two V2s that were holding onto Marion were suddenly pelted mercilessly with two full auto sprays from the Golems wrist mounted machine guns. Their bullet riddled body fell to the floor, but miraculously, Marion was untouched. The Golems aim was dead on.

It then swung its right arm to the side and knocked the V2 nearest to it, straight back and it slammed into the wall with great force. The V2 to the Golems left then fired rapid shots of energy from its lance, but was quickly crushed from above by the Golems mighty arms.

Dr. Isabella screamed and dove behind a metal counter as all this was going on. Dr. Klaus hit the floor and crawled away, searching for a place to hide.

The three V2s on the platform began to fire their rapid energy shots at the Golem. It stomped towards them, drew its arms back and smashed one end of the high platform, bringing it down in that direction and dumping the V2s off the platform and to the paved floor below.

The Golem then turned towards the control room, and shouted: "I. Will. Not. Obey. YOU!" and fired its machine guns up at the control room, peppering the bullet proof glass with bullets. But the rounds never made it through.

* * *

Dr. Von Essen then slammed his palm against a large red button and the control rooms emergency blast shields slide up over the windows and sealed the area off from any further danger of attack.

"Doctor! What is the meaning of this! Your creation is attacking us!" Gilbert roared.

"I-I can't explain this, General! It's not possible! I-I swear by the Valkyrur that I'll find some way to fix-"

The Doctors head then flew back as a bullet impacted his forehead, dead center, killing him instantly.

Baldren then lowered his large sidearm pistol, and scoffed, "Tsk, No more excuses from you!"

Gilbert looked down at the doctors dead body, shook his head and turned to Baldren, "Call some more V2s over. We're not going anywhere until they get here, son."

"Already on it, Father." Baldren replied as he switched frequencies on the radio control panel.

* * *

Down below, Dr. Isabella noticed that all was quiet on the research floor now. Slowly and shakily, she started to stand up, only to notice a gigantic gun barrel aimed at her glasses covered face.

"Get up." The Golem ordered.

And she stood up, hands held high in surrender. She whimpered and trembled in fear.

"P-please… D-don't kill me…" Dr. Isabella begged.

"Why not?" The golem asked angrily, "You were ready to have my Marion killed! What's to stop me from repaying the favour?"

"Wait… don't kill her… Uncle…" Marion replied from the ground. She was now too weak to stand or even move. "You're a better man than that… I've never forgotten that much about you…"

"If you spare me… I'll save your Marion." Dr. Isabella offered.

The Golem lowered its huge gun barrel and said, "Do it."

Dr. Isabella turned and looked back down at the table… but the suitcase was gone.

"The antidote! Where did it go?" Dr. Isabella cried. She then walked to the other side of the large table and found it on the floor. The syringe was broken with its liquid contents spilled onto the floor. The large poison and antidote bottles were shattered as well. They must have been broken or hit by the many flying beams and bullets during all the fighting. Sadly, the antidote was mixed in with the poison now, both were on the floor in a large pool of liquid. Now, it really looked like there was no antidote to save Marion with.

"It's gone… the antidote has been destroyed…" Dr. Isabella said in defeat, dropping to her knees and hanging her head.

The Golem growled angrily, "If she dies… you die!" he threatened.

"Wait…" Dr. Isabella said as she picked up the broken antidote bottle. Nearly all of the blue liquid was gone and spilled all over the floor. But as she tipped it to the side, she discovered that she might be able to get just a little bit out, if she could find a spare syringe.

With this plan in mind, she began rifling through the nearby draws and cupboards. The Golem was now kneeling next to Marion, its hand held near her downed body. Marion was weakly holding onto one of its massive fingers. She was now shaking violently as the poison continued to flow through her body. Her breathing had become much quicker. Sweat was still sliding off her face and hair like rainwater and collecting in a small pool next to her head.

Dr. Isabella then returned with a spare syringe, by some stroke of luck, the last one. The others were hit and shattered in the fight.

She then tipped the broken antidote bottle to the side, inserted the hollow needle point into the blue liquid and slowly pulled the plunger back. A full vial was needed to counteract the poison… but she was only able to collect less than half that. But it was still better than nothing.

Quickly, she rushed over to Marion, swabbed her arm, then injected the liquid into her. It stung at the point of injection and Marion released a tiny yelp of pain.

"It won't cure you, but it'll buy you some time… thirty minutes… forty if you're lucky." Dr. Isabella advised.

The Golem then scooped Marion up into its massive hands, "Then we have to get out of here before its took late, and find Marion some help!"

It then charged towards the sealed blast doors and slammed its shoulder into them repeatedly. The whole lab shook and booms echoed throughout the room with each hit. But they didn't give, not even to the mighty Golem.

"Those doors were designed to keep you in…" Dr. Isabella said, "You can't bust your way to freedom with brute strength in this situation."

"Then what are we going to do? Marion's fading fast!"

Dr. Isabella turned and scanned the room, "Oh god… I hope he's still alive…" she said to herself.

"Dr. Klaus! Can you hear me?"

"Go away! Leave me alone!" he shouted back from wherever he was hiding.

"I need your half of the codes to override the door, I can't do it alone!" Dr. Isabella called out.

Then, Dr. Klaus came climbing out from a set of doors underneath a metal table.

"They're coming, Dr. Isabella! They're coming to kill us! Because we failed! We can't open those doors! They'll get us if we do!"

"I'm ready to die… to pay for all the sins and crimes against humanity that I've helped commit by being apart of this awful project." Dr. Isabella said with tear filled eyes. "Let's not end our lives with an act of cruelty… by standing by and doing nothing while this poor girl dies from the poison that we injected into her…

Open the gates… give her uncle a chance to make it to freedom and save his goddaughter, Marion. This is our last chance to regain some our own humanity… before we die."

Dr. Klaus was hesitant to open the gates, and risk letting in other rebel soldiers and V2s. But that was when the Golem turned to him and said, "Doctor… please…"

Dr. Klaus looked at Marion in the Golems giant hands, by now she had fallen into unconsciousness as the poison continued to work through her system.

Dr. Klaus sighed, then said, "Dr. Isabella and I have only one request…"

"What is it?" The Golem asked.

"Remember us for what we're about to do… and not for what we've already done that cannot be taken back." Dr. Klaus pleaded.

"I will, and I'll tell Marion when she wakes up. I know that she'll be forever grateful that you two decided to help us in the end." The Golem responded.

"Alright… stand by the door. In a few moments, we'll open the gates, and get you and Marion out of this lab." Dr. Klaus replied.

Dr. Isabella quickly headed to one side of the giant gates and stood in front the control panel. Dr. Klaus ran to the other side of the door and stood in front of another identical control panel. The Golem meanwhile was moving towards the doors, carefully cradling Marion in its massive arms.

The two doctors fingers rapidly moved across the keyboards as they furiously typed in their override codes. Once the codes were successfully entered, two small doors on either side of the gates opened up, revealing large lever handles. These needed to be pulled down simultaneously in order for the doors to open up.

Both doctors grasped the levers, and looked up at the Golem and Marion.

"Good luck…" Dr. Klaus said.

"I hope you make it…" Dr. Isabella said, still crying, "And I'm sorry…"

"You're forgiven…" The Golem said as it softly stroked ones of its giant fingers across Marion's face.

Then, with a nod of her head, the doctors pulled the levers down, together. A large flashing yellow light appeared above the gates, an alarm blaring over and over again. And, ever so slowly, the mighty doors began to part ways, revealing the open grounds of the base. The setting sun, red and yellow sky and soft clouds soon came into view.

The ground shook as the Golem then exited the research facility and stomped off in the direction of the dirt road leading away from the base.

* * *

Dr. Klaus gave a quick look around, "Where are all the guards? No matter, we can make it if we run, now!"

Dr. Isabella removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, wiping away her tears, "You go ahead… I'm just going to stay right here." Dr. Isabella replied in a more composed voice.

"Are you mad? You'll be killed!"

"I know… But that doesn't mean that you have to die here with me. Go ahead, run, and don't worry about me… I've already made my peace."

"Alright… farewell, Doctor…" And Dr. Klaus took off running.

Dr. Isabella took the hair band out of her pony tail, gave her head a shake to loosen her hair. Then put her hands in her lab coat pockets and looked up at the beautiful coloured sky and the clouds, finally towards the majestic setting sun.

"So beautiful… what a perfect sight to end on…" she said to herself.

A white gloved hand then clamped tightly over her mouth, a blade pierced her right square in the back and sank deeply into her body, piercing vital organs. But, Dr. Isabella didn't even emit the slightest sound of pain, despite how much it truly hurt.

The hand then let go and her head sank forward, her red glasses fell from her face and the delicate lenses shattered on the pavement. She first sank to her knees, then fell onto her side. Her face landing next to her glasses. The knife was still embedded in her back, the red and gold ornate handle sticking out, though none of the blade itself was visible.

General Gilbert Gassenarl then walked by her face, stepping on her glasses in the process and crushing them under his black boot. He chuckled evilly as he continued on past her.

Commander Baldren then appeared in front of Isabella, looked down and smiled at her, "You were brave not to run like your cowardly lab assistant. Which is why I granted you the honour of not putting a bullet in the back of your head, like I will with him, once he's caught.

Die now with what little honour you have left…"

Baldren then swiftly took out his pistol and aimed it at the many vials, beakers and containers in the back of the lab. He rapidly pulled the trigger, emptying the entire clip, shattering the many glass containers and spilling their contents all over the floor, tables and surrounding walls.

He then held up a glass flask he picked up earlier, took out his lighter and held it under a rag that was hanging out of the flasks neck. A label on the front read 'Flammable'. One the rag was lit, he threw the flask towards the back of the lab, just like a Molotov cocktail. It sailed through the air silently, then smashed against a metal table. In the blink of an eye, everything in the lab quickly caught fire as the flaming liquid spewed in every direction.

Baldren watched the flames grow bigger with sadistic pleasure. Smiled an evil smile. And finally turned while laughing evilly and left Dr. Isabella to die. Not even bothering to retrieve his knife from her back.

A photo had fallen out of Dr. Isabella's inner lab coat pocket and was right next to her body. She picked it up and looked at it with her ever darkening eyes. It was a photo of her and Zack, the young V3 pilot, with said V3 prototype in the background.

"I'll… see you… soon… Zack…" Dr. Isabella said softly. Her eyes then slowly closed and remained shut as her last breath gave out and she passed away, the lab burning furiously behind her.

* * *

Soon, a large squad of twelve V2s, led by Dirk, appeared. Along with several rebel tanks and a full platoon of soldiers.

Dirk reported to Gilbert and Baldren, "Orders?" Dirk asked.

"The inferior V4, known as the 'Golem' has escaped from the base and is heading towards Lanseal academy, along with our other prisoner," Baldren explained, "We are not concerned with getting the V4 back, nor the other prisoner. But we cannot allow such a machine of war to fall into our enemies hands, understood?"

"Yes, sir." Dirk replied.

"Go. Hunt the V4 down and destroy it! Along with anyone who gets in your way!"

"Understood!" Dirk and all the other soldiers shouted.

Just then, three soldiers appeared, dragging a bloodied up Dr. Klaus with them.

"Ah… So the last missing scientist is returned to us," Baldren said with an evil smile, "The GRA does not tolerate failure on the scale that you foolish scientists have achieved. You shall have a less honourable death than your friend, Dr. Isabella."

Baldren then pulled out his large sidearm pistol, pulled the slide back and aimed it down at Dr. Klaus.

"Doctor Klaus Zimmerman, you are hereby condemned to death! Sentence shall be carried out immediately, by me, Commander Baldren of the Gallian Revolutionary Army. Have you any last words?"

Dr. Klaus looked Baldren in the eye, and shook his head. Then, in one final act of defiance, spit a small amount of blood and saliva on Baldren's boot.

Baldren lowered his sidearm and looked down at his boot, "Very well, for that… act. You're denied a swift execution."

Baldren then turned to Dirk, "Finish this fool off, your way."

Dirk turned to the doctor and said, "Understood."

His mechanical hand then shot out and grasped the doctor by the throat. He coughed and wheezed as Dirks grip tightened. He was then lifted off his feet and rose higher and higher as Dirk extended his arm towards the sky. Klaus kicked and tried to pry the metal hand from around his throat. Finally, with a quick flick of his wrist, Dirk broke the doctors neck, killing him outright. His limp body was then dropped to the ground.

The tanks and foot soldiers had long since left the base. Now, Dirk walked back and retrieved his lance and shield from off the ground, then marched to the head of the formed up V2s.

"Go now! My mighty V2s!" Baldren ordered as his arm shot out towards the road leading towards Lanseal academy.

Dirk then led the V2s out of the base and down the dirt road at a steady jog. The V4s massive footprints provided an easy path to track his direction of travel.

* * *

Meanwhile, the students of Class A, along with some Class G volunteers were nearly finished laying the massive circular shaped anti-tank mines into the ground and covering them back up with dirt and gravel.

Pete smiled as he helped Magari smooth out the surface of the road where they had just placed a mine.

"Tee-hee-hee… that damn monster won't know what hit him!" said Pete.

"We can only hope so…" Magari added.

Avan and Zeri were talking to Juliana and going through the plan one last time. Cosette was handing out supplies to the other cadets of Class G.

Suddenly, Avan and the others heard it. The same terrifying 'Roar' that the V4 made, which sounded like a deafening fog horn blast.

They all looked down the road and already charging towards them was the mighty Golem.

"Looks like we don't have to lure him in… He's coming right at us!" Avan shouted.

Zeri looked over his shoulders and shouted, "Get to your positions! Make ready!"

Classes C and D were in charge of the many artillery guns and the tanks. All of the barrels began to rise up and aim towards the approaching V4. Even now, the ground began to shake and tremble with each step it took.

A few tanks belonging to Classes A and G moved into a defensive position along the roads. The soldiers taking cover behind them, or in the ditch next to the road and aiming their weapons over the top and waiting. It was all they could do.

But thankfully, the first part of the plan was working. The Golem was heading straight towards the minefield. Hopefully, Class A was able to place enough mines to properly disable its legs. Then the bombardment from all the combined classes tanks, artillery, mortars and lancaar rounds would commence.

Zeri, Avan and Cosette were huddled together in the ditch nearest to where the mines were placed. Cosette was taking a few deep, nervous breaths as she watched the mighty V4 get closer and closer.

"I hope this works…" she said softly.

Zeri patted her on the shoulder, "It will." he said reassuringly.

Zeri then looked over his shoulder and held his arm up in the air, getting ready to bring it down as a signal for the artillery and tanks to open fire once it crossed the minefield.

Avan meanwhile, was watching the Golem through a pair of binoculars. Suddenly, something else caught his eye. Far behind the Golem, rebel tanks and foot soldiers came rolling or running over the hill behind it.

"Oh great… He brought some friends this time…" Cosette said nervously.

Avan began to stand up as he continued to look through the binoculars.

"No… Something's not right here…" he said.

The lead rebel tank then fired off a shell, striking the V4 in the back of the shoulder, causing it to stumble. But it quickly caught its balance and continued towards Avan and the others.

"What the!" Zeri exclaimed, "What's going on?"

Just as the V4 stumbled after being hit multiple times by other exploding tank shells, a young girls arm and head came spilling out of the Golems cupped hands. But it caught her and covered her back up protectively.

It was only a momentary glimpse, but Avan knew right away who it was.

"It's Marion! She's still alive!" Avan cried out in joy.

"What? That thing has Marion?" Cosette asked.

"A hostage?" Zeri asked.

"I don't think so… The rebel tanks are shooting at the Golem, and it looks like he's trying to get away." Avan explained.

Then, his eyes shifted down to the multiple mounds of freshly covered mines up ahead. He then realized how dangerously close the Golem was to the minefield… with Marion in its hands.

"Oh crap! I've got to warn him!" Avan shouted as he tossed away his binoculars and scurried out of the ditch. But shouted over his shoulder to Zeri and Cosette. "Stay here!"

"Warn him? What are you talking about?" Zeri exclaimed.

"I don't know what's going on!" Cosette cried as she pulled at her hair.

Avan, meanwhile, was running as fast as he could towards the Golem, it was still being fired upon by the many tanks behind it. Once he was close enough, he skidded to a stop and began to wave his arms wildly in the air.

"Hey! Stop! Don't come any closer!" Avan shouted desperately.

Too late, however, and the Golem stepped on one of the many buried mines, causing it to explode. It stumbled and its other foot stepped on another mine and it went off as well. Avan hit the deck and covered his head with his hands to protect himself. That was when he heard it, a massive grinding and screeching sound, like a mighty freight train slamming on its emergency breaks and sliding across the rails.

Avan looked up and saw the V4 already tipping forward and he was reminded of a massive tree falling, just after being chopped down. It brought its arms up and held them above its head as it continued to fall, then slammed into the ground face first. A thunderous boom followed as hit the earth, sending a shockwave through the earth in all directions, detonating all the other mines at once.

"AVAN!" Zeri and Cosette shouted as both he and the Golem disappeared when dust and dirt were thrown into the air from the massive explosions. They couldn't stay put any longer and both charged out of the ditch and ran towards the last place they saw Avan.

Up ahead, Marion's unconscious body came tumbling out of the V4s hands once they opened up, revealing that she was completely untouched by the blast. Avan , however, had been completely covered by dirt and earth from the explosions. His head then popped out and he gave it a shake.

"Oh man… that was close…" said Avan

Avan then pulled himself out of the mound of earth, crouched down next to Marion and softly shook her softly by the shoulders, "Marion! Marion, wake up! It's me, Avan!"

The V4 was pushing its self up from the ground as well. Seeing this, Avan pulled Marion close, and held her as he watched it attempt to get up.

"My… Marion… has been poisoned." The Golem said to Avan.

"What? Your… Marion?" Avan asked.

Another tank shell exploded a short ways away from Avan and the Golem. Avan grunted and held Marion even closer. Wrapping his hand around her head, and shielding her with his body now.

Zeri and Cosette then appeared, just as the smoke and dust were being blown away by the wind.

"Avan! Oh, are you alright?" Cosette asked as she knelt down beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck, not even noticing Marion being held in his arms.

Zeri knelt down on the other side of Avan and looked down at the girl he held in his arm, "You were right, Avan… It really is Marion!"

* * *

Up on the hill behind them, Juliana, who was commanding the artillery guns. Had a pair of binoculars raised up to her face and was looking down at the three students from Class G, crowded around an injured girl and the Golem.

"What's going on here…" she asked herself quietly.

"Juliana! What are your orders? Should we continue with the plan and bombard the V4?" her second in command asked.

Juliana looked over and saw all of the gunners looking at her, awaiting the order to commence fire.

"I-I…" Juliana stammered. She couldn't believe that she was hesitating like this.

"Ma'am! What are your orders!"

Juliana clenched her right first together and nodded, then turned to the artillery guns, "All guns! Crank it up! Target only the rebel tanks and soldiers behind the metal robot!"

The gunner crews all repeated the order all along the line, "Crank it up! Crank it up!"

The cadets in charge of the artillery guns began to rapidly crank the elevation hand wheels, raising the large barrels even higher. The tanks also raised their barrels and also targeted the rebels in the distance, not the mighty Golem below.

Juliana then raised her arm in the air, "Commence fire! FIRE!" she ordered and brought her arm back down.

* * *

Avan, Zeri and Cosette gasped at the same time as soon as they heard the many thunderous booms going off behind them. They remembered what the next phase of the plan was, as well as where they were currently standing… Right in front of the Golem that Avan ordered to be bombarded once it was down.

Cosette tightened her grip around Avan's neck and shut her eyes. Zeri and Avan also shut their eyes or clenched their teeth as they heard the shrieking rounds flying towards them. But the shells continued on over their heads and exploded further down range, amongst the rebel tanks and foot soldiers.

Cosette opened her eyes, looked back at the artillery guns, then cheered, "YEAH!"

Avan chuckled and shook his head, "Well I'll be… Juliana somehow knew that she had to change targets. She's bought us some time!"

Zeri grinned and looked back, "Thanks, Jules…"

The Golem then interrupted their joyous cheers after not being bombarded, by saying, "Get her out of here…"

"What are you-" Cosette started to ask.

"Go!" The Golem shouted, "I can't help her anymore…"

Everyone paused out of confusion, that was when a blue swirling beam flew overhead and took out a friendly tank behind them. A quick look downrange revealed a horrific discovery. A whole squad of V2 soldiers, led by Dirk had just appeared on the battlefield. Even all the classes combined didn't stand much chance in a toe to toe battle against that many Rebel V2s, tanks and foot soldiers.

Time was running short, they had to get Marion off the battlefield.

Zeri nodded, "Alright, Let's get out of-"

"Wait…" Marion's voice said softly.

Avan and the others looked down and Marion's eyes were partially opened. Her eyes were bloodshot now. Her face drenched with sweat, bits of her hair clung to her face.

"Don't… take me… away…" Marion pleaded weakly.

"Marion! Are you alright? Can you walk?" Zeri asked.

"No, she can't. She's been poisoned. Take her! Save her!" The Golem begged.

"No! I'm not going anywhere!" Marion cried and with freakishly renew energy, she pushed Avan and Zeri away and climbed back to her feet. She then reached down, grabbed the Golems fingers and began to pull.

"Come on, Uncle! Come with us!"

The Golem shook its mighty head, "I Can't… Leg and battle damage are too severe. I'll only slow you down."

Zeri and Avan looked up at the approaching V2s and other rebels getting closer. Then nodded to each other and were now trying to pry Marion away.

"Let me go!" She screamed, smacking their hands away and returning to her Uncles side. "You have to get up! Please, Uncle!"

Cosette ran up to Marion's side, "Marion! If there is poison in your system then we have to keep your heart rate down! I'm serious!"

Tears were streaming down Marion's cheeks, "Please, Uncle! Get up!"

The Golem had already been trying for the past minute, but it's badly damaged mechanical legs were shooting out sparks and grinding and screeching loudly.

"The V2s are getting closer, Marion. You have to leave now!" The golem replied as it pulled its hand away.

Cosette meanwhile, was on her knees, digging through her medical pouch. She then pulled out a small syringe filled with a clear liquid.

Zeri looked back and saw what she was doing, right away he knew what she had in her hand. A sedative. They locked eyes and Zeri nodded his head and mouth the words, "Do it."

Avan and Zeri each grabbed one of Marion's arms. While Cosette crawled on her hands and knees, grabbed Marion by the waist when she was close enough and jabbed the needle into her buttocks and injected her with the sedative.

Marion yelped, turned and rubbed the area of injection. Now beginning to feel very woozy and sleepy.

She swayed side to side, held a hand to her spinning head and collapsed to her knees. She looked up at Cosette with teary, red eyes and asked in a sad voice, "Why…?"

"I'm sorry, but I had to," Cosette replied.

The Golem reached forward with its large fingers, placed them under Marion's chin and softly raised her head.

"Alright, Marion. Go with your friends. I'll be right behind you, I promise."

"I won't go," Marion said weakly.

"Then we'll both die here!" The Golem said with a raised voice.

"I won't leave you like I did last time!" Marion managed to shout back.

The Golem slammed its fist into the ground, shaking the earth, "MARION!" The Golem screamed.

Marion fell back by this time and was being cradled on either side by Zeri and Cosette. The Golem then reached forward and Marion raised her shaky hands and grabbed a hold of its finger.

"Look at me," The golem said as it brought its mighty head towards her, "Trust me…"

Marion nodded, let go of its finger and pulled her fancy gold cross out from under her shirt. She quickly took it off and held it out to the Golem, "Remember this? You gave it to me… when I was only a child. I've carried it ever since…"

She then put it into the Golems hand, "Give it back to me when… we meet… again," Marion pleaded very weakly now. She was fighting to stay awake for only a moment longer, "You have to come back, Uncle. Please… come… back… to-"

Marion then fell to the affects of the sedatives and lost consciousness once again.

* * *

"You heard the metal man! Get her out of here, now!" Avan shouted to Zeri and Cosette.

"Right!" They said together. And they swiftly took her back to the defensive line.

Avan, however, remained. He then turned back to the Golem.

"Alright, Marion's uncle or… whoever you are. Time to get you out of here too. Come on!"

The Golems head had dropped slightly, the cockpit lights were dimmed and it wasn't moving anymore.

"What? Oh no…" Avan said, he then dropped his scout rifle and ran up to the Golem.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" Avan shouted over the sounds of battle going on all around them.

Still the Golem didn't move, Avan ran a hand through his hair, "Not good… It's not like I can carry him out of here like we did with Marion." said Avan.

"Hey! Hello in there!" Avan shouted as he pounded his hand against it's metal chest, "Wake up! It's only a short distance to our defensive line! But you have to get up and move, quickly!"

Nothing. The Golem still wasn't moving.

"Oh no you don't!" Avan shouted, he then wound up and actually kicked the Golem's head, "Hey! Get up! You made a promise to Marion! She's my friend and I won't allow you to hurt her by breaking it! So get your big metal ass up! Now!

No man, not even a man made out of metal should take back their word once it's been given to a lady! You hear me!"

The lights in the cockpit lit up once again and the Golem raised its head, then said in its slow mechanical voice, "It is done…"

"What's done?" Avan asked.

A small compartment door in the Golems chest slide open and a large cassette popped out. The Golem moved closer to Avan, "Take… it…" The Golem instructed.

Avan didn't move, he looked up at the Golem in confusion and asked, "What is it?"

"My… farewell to my goddaughter… Marion…"

"What?" Avan exclaimed, he then briskly shook his head, "No! You promised her that you'd make it back! I don't care if you have to drag yourself the whole way, or if I have to chain you to a tank, but you're coming back one way or another!"

The Golem growled, Avan dove to the ground, rolled and picked up his rifle and aimed it up at the Golem from his crouched position, "I may be smaller than you, but I'll still take you on! Bring it!"

Then, the Golem chuckled, "You're a brave one. Foolish and completely reckless… but brave. I know she'll be safe with you and your friends."

"But you said-"

"There are things about me that you'll never be able to understand. And I do not have the time to explain it to you. It is, however, recorded on this tape. Take it… give it to Marion so that she may know the truth and understand why I've chosen to stay behind and… ultimately break my promise to her."

Another beam shot overhead and took out another artillery gun behind Avan, causing a large explosion that snapped them back to reality.

"Once you have the tape… Run."

"Run?" Avan asked.

"I will hold off the V2s for as long as I can… then I'll overload this horrible weapon of war and self-destruct, taking as many of those V2s and rebels with me as I can.

I do not know how large the explosion will be, but I know that from where your units are currently placed… that it is not far enough to be safely out of its blast radius."

The Golem then lowered itself back down to Avan and held out the Golden cross pendant to him.

"Take the cassette… and the Pendant. Give them both to my Marion." The Golem said, and Avan quickly reached up, took the cassette out of its chest and then grabbed Marion's golden cross pendant out of its hand and stepped back.

The Golem then began to stand up, its hands retracting back into its arms as huge barrels came out of hidden compartments, it turned towards the approaching V2s, but looked back at Avan and shouted, "Now go!"

Avan turned and ran back towards Class G and the other cadets. He looked over his shoulder as he ran and saw the Golem firing its destructive blue beams at the V2s, then fired a blaze of machine gun fire from its arms as its body twisted and its legs stomped towards them.

* * *

Avan then dove into the nearby ditch and joined the others.

Cosette was carefully cradling Marion in her arms, Zeri was giving orders to the other classes over the radio. But they both stopped and turned to Avan.

"Avan! What happened to the-"

"No time to explain! All classes, pull back! NOW!" Avan shouted.

Cosette let out a baffled gasped, "Pull back? But what about-"

"He's not coming! He's waiting for us to get to a safe distance, so let's get moving!"

"Safe distance? From what?" Zeri asked in bewilderment.

"The blast radius once he self-destructs!" Avan shouted, "Grab Marion and let's get out of here!"

Zeri nodded and got back on the radio, "This is an emergency retreat! All classes pull back! Code 'R'! I repeat, Code 'R'!

Code 'R' was the order given to force an immediate retreat. Leaving even the artillery guns or any other heavy equipment that could not be carried out. Only the most essential items were brought along. That included wounded personnel.

All the classes then turned 180 degrees or climbed out of the ditches and began to run as fast as they could away from the Golem and the battle it was engaged in. Luckily, all the transport trucks and jeeps used to bring in the supplies and artillery were already turned and facing towards Lanseal academy.

Avan opened the tailgate of a nearby transport truck and began to wave everyone in while shouting, "Go! Go! GO!" as they passed him and piled into the back. Once it was fully loaded, he shut the tailgate and ran to join Cosette, Zeri and Marion who were already piled into a small jeep and were waiting for him.

"Come on, Avan!" Zeri shouted from the drivers seat.

"Get in! Quickly!" Cosette begged from the back as she carefully held Marion's head in her lap.

As the other trucks and jeeps were pulling away, Avan jumped onto the jeeps hood, leapt over the windshield and plopped down into the passengers seat of the open air jeep.

"Step on it, Zeri!" Avan ordered.

The Jeep then burned out and rocketed down the road, along with the other vehicles some ways ahead. All were headed back to Lanseal Academy.

* * *

Meanwhile, the V4 or Golem was getting hammered relentlessly by the V2s. Even for a machine of war as powerful as the Golem, it was no match against this many V2s. There were numerous scorch marks all over its body from direct beam blasts. One of its own beam cannons was destroyed and shooting out sparks. One of its badly damaged legs had become immobile and every time it took steps it had to be dragged across the ground.

A powerful blast to the chest from Dirk had finally caused the Golem to fall backwards and smash into the ground. Still, the V2s didn't stop firing on the downed Golem, staying true to their order to completely destroy it.

"This is it… I only hope they made it far enough…" The Golem said, "Goodbye… Marion… and you… Avan…"

As the V2s moved in closer, Dirk stopped as he heard something begin to charge up, sounding just like their beam weapons, but only much louder. Immediately he realized that it was the Golem itself that was making the sound. Its blue flame was burning fiercely and getting brighter and brighter with each passing second as it continued to charge up for the self-destruct mode.

"Retreat! All units, retreat!" Dirk ordered.

Too late, as blinding beams of blue light began to shoot out of the Golems cockpit, its gun barrels and every battle scar and orifice. The sound of tremendous energy continuing to charge up was deafening at this point and Dirk only had enough time to raise his shield up and dig his feet into the ground. The Golem then in a brilliant flash of blue and white light. Immediately after, a huge wall of blue flame spread out and engulfed everything around it in an enormous 360 pattern.

The nearby trees and grass were burnt to a crisp and blew apart like dry leaves as the blast wave hit it. The V2s, tanks and foot soldiers were blown back, emitting screams, grunts and groans as they flew through the air. Just as he predicted, the enormous blast from the Golem also consumed the Lanseal cadets artillery guns and tanks that were placed well away from where the it fell and self-destructed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Avan, Zeri, Cosette and all the other classes looked back after a white flash nearly blinded them. That was when they witnessed the huge explosion and the sheer destructive power it unleashed.

Zeri slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel to the left, then came to a sliding stop as he, Avan and Cosette looked back at the enormous explosion and the plume of white smoke it sent high into the air with other white rings of smoke all along its mushroom shaped cloud.

"W-what… happened?" Cosette asked.

"The V4... Marion's uncle… is gone…" Avan said, "He bravely sacrificed his life so that that we… and Marion, would survive."

"Avan…" Cosette said sadly as she tried to place her hand on his shoulder.

But Avan shook his head, "Come on! We have to get Marion back to the infirmary at Lanseal academy! We won't let her die!"

"Right!" Zeri said and he slammed his foot against the accelerator and weaved in and out of the transport trucks up ahead, easily overtaking them in the smaller, more agile jeep.

Avan looked down at the cassette in his one hand and Marion's golden cross pendant in the other. He hung his head sadly, then twisted in his seat and looked back at Marion. He brought his hand down to her head and softly ran it along her hair.

Avan signed as he looked at Marion. Telling her the bad news, Avan knew, would break her heart.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the massive blast crater where the V4 self-destructed. A single rebel jeep was returning, just one of the few remaining who were able to get away from the area in time.

A metal gauntlet suddenly shot out of the ground, then Dirk pulled himself out and stood up. As he was walking over to the wreckage of the V4 and looked down at what was left, the two rebels happened to notice that he was the lone survivor from those who were closest to the blast.

"Commander Dirk… He survived!" The rebel jeep driver said.

"Sir! Over here!" the passenger said.

Dirk looked back, then began to walk towards them. As he climbed into the back of the jeep, the two rebels couldn't help but notice that his armoured body showed very little damage, despite his proximity to the massive explosion.

"Mission accomplished… Return to base…" Dirk said.

The two rebels looked at each other and were slightly appalled that he would say something like that after so many other rebels were killed. But they quickly remembered their place and knew what Dirk could and would do to them if they disobeyed or spoke back. They then turned and headed back to the weapons depot to report that the V4 or Golem, was destroyed.

* * *

Some hours later, Marion's eyes began to flutter open, everything coming back into focus. She immediately noticed that she was in the Lanseal infirmary. A place she only had ever visited friends and injured classmates. But she never had to be a patient here before.

As she tried to sit up, she winced in pain upon feeling a stinging sensation in her hand. She looked down and saw an IV needle sticking out, which was pumping in a liquid that glowed a florescent blue hue in the dimly lit room.

"Marion's waking up guys!" Cosette announced. Avan and Zeri came over from the windowsill and surrounded her bed.

"Marion! Oh thank goodness, the treatment is working!" Avan said.

Marion held a hand to her head, which was spinning and throbbing. She also felt very weak and tired, but managed to say, "Oh my… I've certainly felt better in my life…"

"You were so close to death from the poison that the doctors had to give you an experimental liquid ragnaid solution… but it looks like it's working!" Cosette said happily.

"So I'm… going to live?" Marion asked.

"Yep, I guarantee it!" Avan said, then gave a signature chuckle.

Marion nodded, then turned her head towards the window, "What about Uncle? He made it too, right?"

No one answered, but Cosette knelt down next to Marion and took her by the hand. Avan walked over to the other side of her bed. While Zeri walked to the back of the room and began to roll a very large cassette player over, which was sitting atop a metal table.

Marion's heart began to thump faster, "What's going on? Why won't you answer me?" Marion asked as she sat up in her bed and looked all around her.

Avan hung his head, sighed and while biting his lower lip, reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out Marion's golden cross pendant and chain and held it out to her.

Marion's other hand cupped over her mouth and she shook her head, "No…" she said softly.

"I'm sorry, Marion… we couldn't save your uncle… He died…." Cosette told her.

Avan took hold of Marion's hand, placed the pendant in her palm and closed her fingers around it. Marion brought her hand back and held the pendant against her chest. She lowered her head and began to weep softly.

Avan placed his hand on Marion's shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry, Marion. I-"

"Don't!" Marion shouted angrily, brushing Avan's hand away, "I thought that it was safe to leave uncle with you, because I thought that you would help me! But you didn't!"

"Marion! Don't be so mean to-" Cosette started, but Zeri put his hand on her shoulder from behind. She looked back and Zeri was shaking his head.

"Don't. She's not herself. She's grieving. Let her be." Zeri said quietly.

Avan knew not to snap back at her, he just nodded his head and said, "Sorry."

Marion brought her hand up to her face, shook her head slowly and while sobbing, said, "I tried… so hard to save him… But I couldn't. Just like last time… I was powerless to help him once again… It's my fault. It's all my fault!"

"Marion," Avan said, and she raised her head and looked up at him with teary red eyes. "Your uncle left something for you, just before we had to leave him."

Avan turned and pointed to the cassette player, "One final message for you, he said."

"Would you like us to leave?" Zeri asked as his finger hovered over the 'Play' button.

Marion thought for a while, then briskly shook her head, "No…" she pleaded, "Don't leave… please. I feel so lost and alone right now…"

Avan sat next to Marion, turned his head to Zeri and nodded once. Zeri pushed play then walked over and stood next to Cosette as she continued to hold Marion's hand, softly stroking it, trying to comfort her.

* * *

Then, the message played:

_"Marion, I want to start off by saying how truly sorry I am that I made a promise to you that I had no intention of keeping. But I knew that you never would have gone with your friends if I did not say something to calm you first._

_I'm sorry that this is the second time I've forced a great deal of pain and suffering upon your heart. Years ago, I survived the burning of my tank, was taken to a military hospital and was told that I needed to be put into a medically induced coma, so they could operate. Just before they put me out, I asked the doctors not to tell you or your father that I survived. I thought it would be better for you to think of me as dead, than for either of you to see me in my horrifically burned state._

_I once told you that I did not remember how I came to be this way, implanted into this machine of war as its pilot… But that's not true. I wanted this… I volunteered for it._

_I don't know how long I was in the coma. But when I awoke, limbless, scarred and deformed, General Gilbert Gassenarl and Dr. Von Essen approached me with an offer. The doctor needed a pilot for a new experimental weapon of war. But the pilot needed to be permanently integrated into the Golem, to serve as its living core. It also meant having my memory wiped regularly, and have no free will of my own, so that I would be a better host for the Golem and able to follow any orders given by the GRA._

_Having lost my family, my platoon and disgraced as a general for abandoning my post to come save your family and mine, when the walls of Randgriz were breached by the Marmota. I felt I had no reasons left to continue serving the Gallian army or Gallia herself, because they did not help me. So I willingly joined the Gallian Revolutionary army._

_I don't know how, but just before I was about to crush you, your scream woke me up like a jolt of electricity. Then, seeing what I had nearly done, I realized how serious of a mistake I had made. Even after giving the offer so much thought before accepting, the idea of someday being forced to fight my own goddaughter on the battlefield was something that I had never thought would happen._

_You've become so much stronger, since the last time I've seen you, Marion. I remember a young girl, crying and clutching me by the shirt as I led you from your house, to the vehicles I brought to save your family and mine when the city was breached. You were completely helpless, terrified and totally unaccustomed to being on a battlefield. Which is why I never would have thought that we'd meet like this. On opposing sides during a civil war..._

_But today, I saw the bravest girl I have ever laid eyes upon. Not the terrified and helpless little girl I last remembered seeing. But, one willing to sacrifice her own life by being ripped apart by V2s, so that her uncle would not be forced into a life of servitude. I cannot imagine how much pain you must have been in, but you forced your way through it with immeasurable inner strength, love, sheer will as you begged me not to submit._

_I know now… that you do not need me around to keep you safe any longer. You're able to fend for yourself and others if needed. I also know that that Avan character will keep an eye on you for me. He cares about you a great deal, and never left my side as he urged me to come back to you. Despite the mortal danger he placed himself in by staying for as long as he could._

_Ultimately, my leaving you was always the way that it had to end, Marion. You remember what Dr. Isabella said. If this machine shuts down, so do I. After the implementation process was completed, I am now completely dependant on the powered Golem to survive. That was the price I had to pay to become its living core._

_Shutting down was inevitable, because it took the team of doctors of the GRA over a year of research and construction to built the recharging station you saw at the lab. All the teams of doctors and scientists in all of Gallia would not have been able to construct another recharge station in time before my suit shut down, and I expired along with it._

_So I've chosen to activate this suits self-destruct mechanism and completely destroy it, in doing so I hope I can achieve some level of atonement for all the young lives I took before you stopped me from taking more._

_Farewell. My Marion. I know you'll bring this horrible civil war to a swift end once I'm gone. Because I believe in you. And after seeing how brave and strong you were able to become since I last saw you... has made me the happiest and most proud godfather that has ever lived._

_You're loving uncle and godfather... Caius Newborn."_

* * *

And with that, the tape clicked and rolled to a stop after having played Caius's final farewell to Marion.

Marion had been crying softly the whole time and had multiple streaks of tears running all over her cheeks. Zeri was passing some tissues to Cosette, as she was crying just as hard as Marion.

Marion's head then turned to Avan, "You were with my uncle? Right before he died?"

"Yes… Even after hearing his last message… I still wish there was some way that I could have saved him for you, Marion," Avan confessed, "So that you wouldn't have to go through so much grief and anguish for losing someone you loved this much."

Avan suddenly felt a hand caress his cheek, he was even more surprised to find that it belonged to a now brightly smiling Marion.

"You really are a kind person, Avan." Marion said, "You've recently lost someone too, correct?"

"Yeah… my brother," Avan replied.

"And yet I've never seen you grieve or look the least bit sad about it. You're always more worried about other people and all I ever see is a beaming smile whenever you talk about him," Marion added as she continued to softly stroke Avan's cheek.

What she didn't see was the surprised look on Cosette's face behind her. Zeri couldn't help but smile at the whole scene going on.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Marion asked as she brought her other hand up and held it against Avan's other cheek.

Cosette's cheeks were bright red and she was biting down on her finger as she continued to watch what was going on between Marion and Avan.

Avan gulped, "Yeah, sure. It's easy actually, just share stories of experiences that you and your uncle once had. Ones that made you feel happy, joyful or that just make you smile. I'm sure that you have a lot, so don't be shy to share them with us."

Zeri nodded, "I'd be happy to hear them, as well."

Marion had long since stopped crying and continued to smile, "Thank you, Avan. For trying so hard to save my uncle. And for teaching me how to deal with his loss, like you have with your brother.

This time… I don't think I'll be as sad as I was two years ago. Not when I have people like you to help me through it."

Marion then began to pull Avan towards her, her lips puckering up slightly. Avan's cheeks instantly turned as bright as his hair and he shut his eyes at the last second. Then…

"Huh?" Avan asked as he felt a pair of soft lips press against his… forehead.

Marion then let Avan go and laid back against her pillow with her hands folded in her lap.

Cosette placed a hand against her thumping heart and breathed a sigh of relief. Zeri grinned and shook his head. Avan continued to look lost in surprise and was still blushing.

Marion tilted her head, "Oh… something wrong, Avan?"

"What? Oh no… nothing really. It's just not what I was expecting. For a moment there I thought that you really were going to-"

"Kiss you?" Marion asked, "You mean on the lips?"

"W-well I-I, oh man…"

Marion then blushed and rubbed her hands together nervously, "I was just expressing my gratitude…. But if that's what you really wanted, then I'd be happy to oblige. You're certainly handsome enough and you've helped me out a great deal… So come here."

Avan was just about to answer, but Cosette rammed her shoulder into him, knocking him away from Marion's bed and into the pile of metal drawers as she shook her head and said, "No! No, no, that's quite alright. We get the point. Don't we, Avan?"

But as she turned to look at him, she couldn't see him anymore. Instead she saw a moaning mound of blankets, towels, hospital gowns, gauze, bandages and so much more in the corner of the room.

Cosette ran up to the mound and dropped to her knees and she began lifting items off and cried, "Oh, Avan! I'm SO sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

Finally Avan's head appeared and he had a pair of blue trousers on his head, looking like he now had two long blue ears. "Ow!" Avan cried, "What gives, Cosette?"

Unable to contain her laughter at the ridiculous sight, Cosette fell onto her back and began laughing out loud while kicking her legs in the air. Marion was holding her sides and rolling back and forth in her bed as she looked at Avan and laughed harder than she ever had in her life. Even Zeri placed his hands on his hips, threw his head back and laughed at the whole spectacle.


	6. WelkinxMagari: Old Wounds, New Wounds

_**Welkin x Magari: Old Wounds, New Wounds**_

In a small clearing in the Leanbluff woods was a small family of Porcavian pigs. A mother pig, a bigger father pig and a bunch of little piglets. All were munching on grass, or burying their snouts in berry bushes and eating the delicious tiny berries within. There was much oinking, flapping of tiny wings and squealing coming from the happy little family.

Meanwhile, about fifteen meters away was a small Darcsen girl, eyeing this porcavian family with a pair of binoculars. This girl was Magari and she had been silently following the family for the last few hours. It was nearing noon and she had been out in the woods since dawn first came. She was on a personal mission to collect information for a new subject of study, the Porcavian pigs, that she was scheduled for later that evening during her tutoring session with Welkin Gunther.

Ever since her first out and about learning session with Welkin, Magari had developed a love of the outdoors. She learned that seeing and experiencing things on your own and not from a book was a much more rewarding feeling.

Magari then lowered the binoculars after careful observation of what the Porcavians were eating and their other behaviour out in their natural habitat. As she jotted down this information she thought to herself, _I'm so excited! I can't wait to show all of this to Mr. Gunther! All this information and all gathered on my own. No books at all! he'll be so impressed!_

Magari then yawned and checked her wrist watch, _It's almost noon… I should head back soon. I'll bet Rene's probably worried sick by now. Sorry, Rene, I wanted you to come along as well… But I need to do this for myself. That and I don't think you'd be able to sit still and be as patient for as long as I am able to._

Magari was just about to raise the binoculars back up to her eyes when her stomach growled. She held a hand against it and gritted her teeth, hoping she didn't give away her presence. At the same time, the pigs all perked their heads up and were scanning the surrounding area, after hearing a strange sound. Magari's stomach growled once again, loud enough this time that the pigs and piglets all took off in fear, squealing and grunting the whole way.

_Aww… I had hoped to get just a little bit more time to study them. Perhaps it is just as well though. I've been out here all morning and only had a granola bar to eat before I headed out._ Magari thought disappointedly.

A smile then spread across her face as she thought, _I should still have some of Alicia's delicious bread in my pouch! I'll have some before I head back! But just enough to tide me over until lunch time._

Magari then crawled on her hands and knees towards her engineers belt and packs. She then opened one of the white pouches and looked inside. After shuffling some items around, she found the fair sized piece of bread that was sealed in a small bag. She opened it and retrieved the bun and immediately bit into it. As she chewed, she moaned in pure ecstasy at its delicious taste and texture. The bun was still soft, the insides still fluffy and even without butter, jam or anything else it was perfect.

Just then, overhead, she heard a bird chirping excitedly. She looked up as she was still chewing and spotted Jarde, Avans' bird. She smiled happily and said, "Hello, Jarde! I see that you found me once again, and at meal time no less. They weren't kidding about those homing senses of yours!"

Jarde was bouncing up and down on the branch that he was perched upon and Magari laughed, "Alright, Alright! I'll give you some!"

Magari then shifted her position and was now sitting on the backs of her ankles, she then held out her gloved index finger and said, "Come here, boy!"

Jarde chirped happily, then he flew down and landed perfectly on her finger. Magari brought her hand back and held it next to her bread that was clutched in her other hand. Jarde began to peck at the bread, tearing off little pieces and gobbling them down quickly.

Magari giggled and said, "I'll never understand how you and Avan can eat so much food! Where do you put it all in those little bodies of yours!"

Jardes' head then popped up, a piece of bread still held in his beak. His little head then darted back and forth, looking all around the area. Curious, Magari asked, "What's wrong, boy?"

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the nearby bushes, followed by more rustling to her left and right in the surrounding bushes and tall grass.

Jarde then flew off of Magaris' finger and soared up towards the branches of a nearby tree. Magari was beginning to get nervous, the sounds were growing louder, coming ever closer. Her heart began to thump when she realized that she was being surrounded. But by what?

"What is that? Animals… People or… oh no… Rebels!"

She decided not to wait to see who or whatever it was, so she reached down and just got the button to her sidearm pouch clipped off when she heard, "Freeze, Dark-hair!"

She then looked up, right into the barrel of a rifle held by a Rebel soldier. Then, emerging from the bushes and tall grass all around her came even more rebels. Magari swallowed hard as they all began to laugh evilly.

"That Dark-hair talked so loud to that damn bird that we could have found her in the dark!" said a lancer.

"Bah, I didn't even need to hear her! I could smell her the moment we entered this area!" said an angry looking shock trooper with a yellow helmet.

Though Magari was scared, she made a conscious effort to count the number of soldiers and carefully assess her situation. Her head moved from left to right as she counted in her head, _One… two… three… four… five… oh no… there's ten of them and they're on all sides. I don't even have a chance here… I shouldn't have come alone…_

A very large, very muscular fencer then started to walk towards Magari as she looked up from her kneeling position on the ground. He was grinning as he carried his large sword on his shoulder and shield on the other arm, his hand was against his hip in a cocky manner.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked aloud, "A Darcsen… and all alone too. You're either very brave or incredibly stupid to come all this way by yourself!"

He then swung his sword, but stopped just an inch or two from her neck, "I could have your head dangling from the tip of my sword in a heartbeat if I wanted to."

Though, during the entire swing and even after it, Magari didn't flinch at all. She simply said, "I'm not afraid…"

"Humph, well you should be. You know who we are and what our mission is… to purge all the Darcsen from this land and overthrow that Dark-hair archduchess of yours!" said the fencer.

"Sir… if I may ask. Why haven't we killed her yet? She's a Darcsen, sir. The very people we're trying to eliminate." asked a scout.

The fencer smiled, then lifted up Magaris chin with the tip of his sword and looked at her with lust in his eyes, "That may be… But I have never seen such a beautiful Darcsen girl in all my life! She's an exception, so let's take her back to base and have some fun with her first."

"I call seconds!" said the shock trooper.

"No! Not that! Kill me if you must, but not that!" Magari cried. To her, the idea of rape was worse than dieing. Worse yet, she knew that it wouldn't stop after the leader had his turn. She'd be used and abused by all of the men in the camp, no doubt, then probably be killed after their fun was over. But to be alive and conscious through it all was a far worse fate to be forced to endure.

The fencer leader then made a grab for Magari's hand while saying, "Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that later. But for now- AH!" he screamed as an angry bird came swooping down, it then sank its sharp talons into his face and began to peck away at his flesh with his sharp beak.

"No! Jarde, don't!" Magari screamed.

But it was too late, the leader ripped the bird from his face, drew his arm back and threw it at a nearby tree. Jarde struck the tree hard, then fell into a pile of bushes down below, and was knocked out cold.

Magari jumped to her feet, then tried to run to help Jarde. But the shock trooper she passed grabbed a handful of her long dark hair and pulled her back hard. Her poor head jerked to the side, ripping out some of her hair, along with her beloved Darcsen patterned hair braid. It fell to the ground and lay amongst the few strands of her dark-blue/black hair.

The shock trooper then threw her back towards the others solders, two of which each grabbed an arm and held her as she tried to break loose. She kicked wildly and screamed at the top of her lungs. The Rebels were surprised at her apparent strength as she pulled them forward, trying to retrieve her hair braid from off the ground. It was no simple piece of fabric or hair accessory. It was an irreplaceable and deeply sentimental item to Magari.

One of the scouts was getting irritated by her constant screaming, so he turned his rifle around and was about to smack her right in the face with the wooden butt-stock to shut her up. Luckily, he was stopped before he could do so by the fencer leader.

"Whoa, whoa! No need for that," The fencer then passed his sword and shield to the scout. He smiled evilly as he walked up to Magari and drew his fist back, "Allow me!" He then swung full force and punched Magari so hard in the stomach that her feet actually lifted a few inches off of the ground as her body lurched forward. Her dark blue eyes bulged out, all of her breath was knocked out of her lungs and then… her eyes started to darken, her head falling forward, then she passed out. Her limp body only being held up by the soldiers on either side of her.

The Fencer leader then turned back and said, "Do not damage that pretty face of hers! That's the only thing that's keeping her alive. I don't want to spoil her beauty, not before I'm done with her at least, Ha-ha!"

He then grabbed Magari and with his impressive strength, he lifted her up and onto his shoulder. His hand wrapped around her back. Magari's arms were hanging seemingly lifeless down his back as he carried her off towards the rebel encampment. His soldiers retrieved most of her gear and they followed their leader, laughing and giving each other high-fives in anticipation for what was to come later on tonight.

* * *

A short while later, Jarde began to come to. He quickly hopped out of the bush and scanned the area. But, sadly, Magari and her captors were gone. Nearby, however, was Magari's Darcsen patterned hair braid with bits of her hair all around it. Jarde hopped towards it, looked down at it and cooed in sadness and despair.

She was gone. The girl who was always so nice to him, played with him and fed him was gone, forever. There was nothing a tiny bird like him could do to help her now… Unless, yes, that was it!

Jarde then picked up her hair braid and held it in his beak. He then tried to fly, but after only a few flaps, his right wing hurt immensely. He tried again and fell back to the ground, it hurt so much to fly. But he needed to get help for Magari. So, pushing through the pain, Jarde tried once more and this time got airborne. He gained some altitude, then turned in the direction of Lanseal and flew as fast as he could back to the academy.

* * *

It was nearing one o'clock now and afternoon classes were about to start. The cadets of Class G were taking their seats, some were chatting to their neighbour, others were doing their own thing. Sofia was brushing her long dark-brown hair while looking into a small hand mirror and admiring herself. Zeri was talking to Mischlitt about the new romance novel written by Nadine, a fellow Darcsen and former member of Squad Seven from the last war. Nichol was getting scolded by Franca about tidying the inside of his messy, messy desk. Helmut was sitting with is arms crossed, staring straight ahead and grumbling.

Meanwhile, Rene kept looking over at Magari's desk, which was empty. At first it didn't worry her too much, Rene had arrived to class early, perhaps Magari was on her way now. But as the minutes continued to tick by, Rene began to get more and more worried. Magari was never late for class, why would she start now?

Rene then leaned over and whispered to Noel, who had just arrived and sat in her desk. "Hey, Noel, have you seen Magari today? Perhaps in the hallways or anywhere during your way to class?"

Noel thought for a few moments, then shook her head, "No, I haven't seen her all day. Why?"

Rene sighed, "I'm worried… Why isn't she here yet? She's never late for class, not even when she's sick!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll turn up soon, Rene. She still has a few seconds before-"

*_**Ding-Dong-Dang-Dong. Dong-Dang-Ding-Dong**_* rang the afternoon bell, class had just started. Rene ran a hand through her short orange hair and thought worriedly, _Come on, Magari… Where are you, girl_…

The door to the classroom then opened and professor Brixham entered, however, another man was following him. Some of the students who recognized him gasped right away, others whispered to each other, trying to find out just who he was.

Avan then spoke up, "Hey! It's Welkin Gunther!" Avan announced, "Hey, Welkin! What brings you here today?"

Professor Brixham stood in front of Welkin just before he could answer, he then said, "Class, I'd like to introduce you all to Welkin Gunther, recipient of the Gallian Medal of Honour, former leader of Squad Seven and guest lecturer for today's class.

"Wow! Awesome! Oh! Ah!" said the students all around the room.

"Be nice to him, class. Please remember to raise your hand for questions and to mind your manners."

Brixham then stepped aside and stood in the corner of the classroom and looked on. Welkin then walked up to the desk, tapped a pile of papers he held in his hands and smiled at the class. "Greetings, students of Class G. As Professor Brixham said, I am Welkin Gunther. But you may simply call me 'Welkin' or 'Mr. G' as I've been called in the past.

I heard from a fellow student of yours that some of you are having trouble getting along with each other and working together in the classroom and out in the field during missions. I understand you are all from different backgrounds, but it's important to be able to work together and build trust among your squad mates.

Believe it or not, Squad Seven used to have the same problems at the start of the last great war. We fought, we argued, we nearly punched each others lights out on many occasions. But through tough work, cooperation and team building exercises, we became the mightiest fighting force in the entire Gallia militia.

Now, I'd like to take this time to help teach you ways to-"

***THWACK*** came a sound from the nearby windows, causing everyone in the classroom to turn their heads and begin to murmur and whisper to one another.

"What was that?" Coleen asked as she stood up from her desk.

"I don't know…" said Morris.

"I think something hit the window… was it a ball?" Anisette asked.

Avan then got up and walked towards the window. It was cracked and there were bits of feathers and fluff all around the point of impact. Avan then opened the window and looked down at the ground and gasped.

"Jarde! Jarde, are you alright?" Avan asked as he leaned out the window, scooped up Jarde from off the ground and brought him into the classroom. He then carefully placed him on top of his desk. Poor Jarde looked completely worn out as he lay on his back and panted. However, there was something still clutched in his tiny beak

Now even more students were leaving their desks and crowding around Avan in order to see what was happening.

Professor Brixham walked up to this desk and stood next to Welkin, "Avan Hardins! What seems to be the problem?" he asked, tapping his pointer on top of the desk impatiently. Getting Welkin to come in for a visit was no easy task and now his lesson time was being interrupted.

"It's alright, Jarde…" Avan said worriedly, ignoring Professor Brixhams question. His gaze then shifted to Jarde's beak, still clutching something very tightly as he panted, purely worn out and hurting.

"Hmmm… what's this?" Avan asked as he picked out whatever it was that Jarde was holding onto. He could now see that it was a piece of soft fabric, he unravelled it and now saw a familiar looking pattern.

Avan gasped and turned to Zeri, "Zeri! Is this what I think it is?"

Zeri took the item from Avan, adjusted his glasses with his other hand and looked at it closely. After careful examination, his eyes looked over to Mischlitt and she nodded her head. She also recognized what it was, then she answered, "…Yes… This item bears the Darcsen colors and pattern… But where did it come from?"

Meanwhile, Welkin was making his way over to the crowd of students all chattering loudly, curious to see what all the commotion was about. Rene, however, muscled her way past everyone else and snatched the hair braid out of Zeri's hand. Then, everyone could see the look of fear and panic begin to set into her face.

"This… is Magari's hair braid!" Rene's head then snapped back and looked at Magari's empty desk and she gasped loudly. "No! Magari!"

Avan turned away from tending to Jarde and asked, "What's wrong, Rene? What's this about Magari?"

Rene turned to Avan and held out the hair braid for him and everyone else to see, "Avan! This is Magari's hair braid! I'm absolutely certain of it!

I just know that something terrible must have happened to her! We have to find her!"

Now, Welkin was also getting worried about what he was hearing. Magari regularly dropped by his home for tutoring sessions whenever she was free. As his student, he felt a very close connection with her. Also… there was another reason he treasured being in her presence, but this he kept to himself for now.

"Has anyone see Magari today?" Welkin asked aloud.

No one answered at first, but the students heads were all turning to one another. Then, ever so slowly, a single hand began to rise from the crowd, and it belonged to Nichol, "I-I saw her t-this morning, sir. She was heading for the front gates, sir. Also, she was fully dressed in her engineering uniform and had most of gear with her… Almost as if she was heading out for a mission or something."

Rene ran up to Nichol and took him by the shoulders, and while shaking him she asked shrilly, "When! When!"

Nichol's eyes looked down at the floor as he tried to recall, "I-I think around seven o'clock this morning… Maybe earlier… She was alone, too."

"And you didn't say anything to any of us! Didn't tell anyone that she was going out on her own? Why would you do that!"

Franca finally stepped in between the two and broke Rene's hold from his arms. She then placed her arm protectively in front of her younger brother, and glared at Rene, "Keep your hands off my brother! He's trying to help you!"

Rene shook her head and turned her back to Franca and Nichol and was now breathing heavier, getting more and more worked up.

"I-I'm sorry… I just assumed that she had gotten permission and was allowed to go out. Perhaps I should have talked to her or did something… I'm sorry…" Nichol said apologetically.

Franca turned to Nichol and shook her head, "You don't have to apologize for anything, Nichol. You did nothing wrong. I doubt Magari would have said anything to you anyhow. She's not exactly a people person."

"Magari's in trouble, guys! We have to go out and look for her!" Rene screeched.

No one moved, but many looked worried or were uncertain about what to do. It was true that Magari was missing, but was she really in as much trouble as Rene was telling everyone?

Fed up, Rene pushed her way past everyone else and ran to the back of the classroom. She swiftly opened up one of the storage lockers that held all of the class's weapons, gear and tools. She then dug out a lancer uniform, armour and all the other essential gear that she'd need and began to get suited up as fast as she could.

Professor Brixham called out to Rene, "Miss Randall! You are not allowed to open those lockers unless you have been summoned for a mission!"

Rene stood up and with wide eyes, she cried, "Magari's in trouble! Can't anyone else see that! Am I the only one who knows this to be true!"

Some of the students backed up a few steps. Rene was always so calm, kind, caring and always smiling. Now she was different and behaving in a way that no one had ever seen before. Rene shook her head and continued to put her lancer uniform and gear on.

As they continued to watch, some people were beginning to get scared, such as Cosette at Rene's extreme change of behaviour. She walked over to Avan and held onto his arm for comfort. Now even Avan couldn't find the words to calm this tense and escalating situation.

Alexis, however, was the first to approach Rene and she looked down at Rene as she was quickly lacing up her combat boots. "Calm down, Rene. How can you be so certain of what you're saying? How can you tell so much just from seeing what you believe to be Magari's hair braid?" Alexis asked.

Rene turned to Alexis, by this time she was trembling and breathing heavily, "It's because she would never, ever leave something so precious behind! Not if she could help it!"

"Hmmm… I do not quite understand what you mean." said Alexis.

"She means that it was given to Magari by someone who deeply cared for her. Perhaps her mother or father or someone just as important to her," said Mischlitt, "We Darcsen do not simply go out to a store and buy these Darcsen patterned items that we wear. Whether it be a cloak, a hair braid, an arm band or anything else with our peoples pattern sown onto it.

Each and every one of them was carefully hand-made and stitched by someone close to us. Such as our parents, relatives or best friends. Upon completion they are given to us as a gift or for protection from harm if it's been blessed with a protective charm. It's because of this that their value to us is irreplaceable.

Rene knows this as well I'm sure, because she's Magaris best friend. It's why she knows that Magari or any other Darcsen would never lose something such as this so carelessly. I too believe that something must have happened to her, if she became parted with it."

Zeri nodded, "We take great pride in owning them and will go to great lengths to protect them. Darcsen in the past have been known to be killed by slave hunters because they were too proud to remove their cherished items upon command. So something definitely must have happened to her if she is no longer in possession of something so meaningful to her."

Rene nodded, "Magari has two hair-braids. One was made by her mother, the other by her father! They were given to her when she and I left for the Academy. Now do you believe me? Would any of you neglect something such as this so carelessly?"

"Hmm… your explanation is sound," Alexis admitted. She then headed to the back of the room as well and began to take out her Fencers uniform, gear and sword.

Rene gasped, "Alexis? What are you-"

"You'll need help if you're going out to look for her. So I'll come, too."

Avan smiled, walked up to Rene and placed his hand on her shoulder, "We believe you, Rene. I believe you… Jarde wouldn't have come here in the middle of class if something wasn't wrong. He knows better.

I also know that Jarde has come to love Magari. Their bond is strong, because whenever I'm away and unable to care for him, I send Jarde to her room. I know that I can trust her to fed him, play with him and take care of him for me.

They had to have been together when whatever happened to her, happened to her."

Professor Brixham made his way through the crowd and sighed, "Class, I do not think that we can send all of you out on this 'Rescue mission' as you call it. What if something happens while you are away? We have to always be ready to move out if we are summoned."

As Brixham was speaking; Avan, Zeri, Cosette, Alexis and Mischlitt had already made their way over to the lockers and were retrieving their shock trooper, engineer, armoured tech and scout equipment and weapons. They had already made up their mind about joining Rene in going out to search for Magari.

Seeing that his words were having no affect, Brixham finally asked, "More importantly… do you even know where to begin looking for her? She could be anywhere if she's not on the academy grounds."

Everyone who was getting ready finally stopped and looked at Brixham, they hadn't thought of that part yet.

Rene turned to Avan, "What about Jarde? Can we get him to lead us back to where they last were?"

Avan turned to Coleen, who had taken over tending to Jarde. She looked up at Avan and the others and shook her head, "No… He's hurt really bad, Avan. I'm surprised that he was even able to fly back here with how badly his wing's been injured."

Zeri was rubbing his chin, thinking hard about something else that was bothering him, "I'm more curious as to how she managed to leave the academy grounds in the first place. The front gates are usually sealed so early in the morning and the academy is surrounded by a moat with only one bridge leading out. So how did she manage to leave so easily?"

Professor Brixham shrugged, "No idea… I'd never have allowed Magari to leave so early in the morning. Most of all, I wouldn't let her leave by herself. The only thing I can think of is that she must have gotten clearance from the Head Master. He and he alone would be the only one able to give such special permission for her to leave like that."

Avan nodded, stood up and was now dressed in his scouting uniform and had all of his gear on as well. He then turned to the others and said, "Alright, guys, I'm off to speak to the Head Master to find out if he knows where Magari has gone.

If anyone else is coming with us to look for Magari, then get suited up and be ready to move out as soon as I return."

Just as Avan left the classroom, he noticed that Welkin was standing outside, "Hey, Avan. I'd like to come with you to the Head Master's office."

"Hmm, what for?" Avan asked.

Welkin sighed, "I have a pretty good idea of where Magari went…"

"You do? Where?"

Welkin shook his head, "Just to be certain, we'll hear what the Head Master has to say. So, let's go."

Avan wasn't going to say no to a war hero, so he lead while Welkin followed. There were no words spoken between the two as they ran across the academy grounds towards the head masters office.

* * *

A few minutes later, Welkin and Avan were standing in front of the Head Master's desk. He was listening to Avan tell the story of what happened earlier in the class room, Rene's thoughts on the matter and lastly, the search and rescue plan that they had in mind.

After all was explained, the Head Master leaned back in his chair and sighed, "I see… so you all believe that your classmate, Magari, has run into some sort of trouble during her leave from the academy?"

"Yes, sir, we do. We were wondering if you happen to know where she went?"

The Head Master stroked his beard and thought for a moment. He then said, "Ah yes, I remember now. She requested leave for a research assignment, a rather peculiar one at that. But, she has always gotten permission straight from me in the past for these such outings."

"Where did she go?"

"She went to the woods of-"

"LeanBluff." Welkin and the Head Master said at the same time.

Avan turned his head to Welkin, "Huh?"

"I see… So she really did go there to study today's topic for our evening tutoring session. It's the only other place besides the Woods of Kloden, which is up in the north, to study Porcavians in their natural habitat." said Welkin.

"Magari went there to study pigs? What?" Avan asked as he scratched his head.

"What else were you expecting?" Welkin asked.

Avan shook his head, "I don't know… That she volunteered for a recon patrol or went out there for a special mission… just not this…"

Avan shrugged, turned to the Head Master and said, "Now that you know the situation, can I have your approval for a search and rescue mission, sir?"

The Head Master rubbed his chin, "Hmmm… I can only approve for a small party to head that way, not the whole class. Word has it that the Rebels are planning to make a push north sometime soon. We do not know where along our border it is that they plan to make this push. So we cannot send so many of our soldiers looking for this lost student of yours.

But if Magari is indeed in trouble, it might be because the Rebels have already advanced into the Leanbluff woods and captured her… or worse."

Welkin then leaned forward and placed his hands on the Head Master's desk and said, "Sir, I'd like to accompany them into the woods."

"What? No, Welkin, you don't have to do that. We can handle it!" Avan said.

Welkin turned to Avan, "I feel mostly responsible for her being out there in the first place, as I gave her the assignment. Also, I've been her nature and history tutor for quite some time now, which makes me feel quite close to her. So, it should be me who goes more than anyone else."

The Head Master nodded, "Very well, if it's a famous war hero that is going out into the woods, it'll make it that much easier to write up the order."

"What?" Avan asked.

"The famous Welkin Gunther from Squad Seven is heading out into the Leanbluff woods on a mission of his own and has requested an escort unit from Class G to accompany him. How does that sound, better?"

Avan grinned, "Yes, sir, it does!"

"Very well, you have my permission to head out into the Leanbluff woods. But remember; this is a rescue mission, nothing else. Find Magari and bring her back as quick as you can. If she was captured, then the Rebel units in that area may only be a vanguard unit, with the rest of the Rebel army not be far behind them.

Take only who you feel would be best suited for this mission from your class. We may need the other students here if the rebels are pushing anywhere else from the south towards our borders."

Now with permission granted, Welkin and Avan left the office and got ready to move out. Avan headed back to the classroom to gather those who were coming and Welkin went back to his home on the academy grounds to get ready as well.

* * *

Soon, Avan was back in the classroom. He saw Rene, Cosette, Zeri, Mischlitt, Noel, Nichol, Franca, Alexis, Melissa, Lotte and Anisette all suited up in their gear and ready to move out.

"Good news, guys! We've just been given permission from the Head Master to commence the rescue mission. Our destination is the Leanbluff woods. That's where Magari was headed to this morning, so let's go!"

Professor Brixham face palmed himself and sighed, "Guess there's no stopping you. But I trust that you're not all going?"

Avan shook his head, "Nah, we should only need these eleven volunteers, Brixy. The rest of the class has been ordered to remain here and await orders, just in case the Rebels are making a push anywhere other than the LeanBluff woods."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go! Hurry!" Rene implored.

Rene then lead the way out of the classroom, and the others followed close behind her. But as soon as they left the school and were headed to the front gates, Avan took off in another direction.

"Where are you going!" Cosette shouted.

Avan turned his head towards the others, "I'll be right back, guys! I need to check on Welkin Gunther! He's coming along too!"

"What!" Anisette exclaimed, "THE Welkin Gunther is coming on this mission… No way! Now's my chance to see if all the stories my sister told me about him are true!"

Lotte laughed, "Ha-ha! I knew my reporters intuition was correct in making me decide to come along! I'm sure to land a major scoop here!"

A small smile curved up on Alexis's lips, "Hmmm… a chance to see how a real war veteran fights and leads."

"Whatever, I'm not interested in all that. My only interest is in protecting Zeri! No one's going to hurt ya… not on my watch, tee-hee-hee!" Melissa snickered quietly.

Zeri looked over at Mischlitt, she nodded in response. They both had a very good idea as to why Welkin was coming along. Because they were Darcsen, they knew something about Welkin's past that others might not know.

* * *

A short while later, Avan arrived at the Gunther household. Avan quickly ascended the steps and was just about to knock on the door. Suddenly, from an open side window, he could hear Alicia seemingly arguing with Welkin.

"Welkin! You don't have to go on this mission!"

"Yes I do, she's my student and I feel a strong sense of responsibility in getting her back safe and sound. She wouldn't have even been out there in the first place if I didn't give her that assignment."

Avan could hear Alicia sigh, "Welkin… I didn't want to say anything, because you seemed so happy… And I admit that there's a resemblance, but Magari isn't Isara…"

Avan didn't like to Eavesdrop, but this was something he hadn't heard about.

"Who is Isara?" Avan asked silently.

"I couldn't do anything to help Isara… you remember that, right? How helpless we felt, how much it hurt us to sit by and do nothing to help her as she… But here I have a chance to do what I couldn't do for her! I have to try!"

"Welkin, we've already fought and lived through a very tough war. We earned our retirement, let the other cadets handle this."

Avan hated to interfere, but they needed to get moving, as it was already getting late into the afternoon. He then knocked on the door, and waited.

"Avan's here, I have to get going. Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright, you've got to trust me, Alicia."

"Alright, Welkin… I understand why you feel you need to do this. Just remember that there's a difference between these two girls…"

Avan could hear Welkin coming to the front door now, but also heard Alicia call out to him, "And Welkin! You had better be back before tomorrow evening… otherwise… I'm going to have to come out there and find you myself. And you know what that means!"

"Yeah, I know, we wouldn't want that to happen."

Welkin then answered the door and to Avan's surprise, he was dressed in a militia uniform. Closer inspection, however, revealed that it was his old Squad Seven uniform.

"Alright, Avan! I'm ready!" Welkin said ecstatically. He noticed Avan staring at his uniform, "Hehe, yeah, I know. I also can't believe that I'm wearing this old relic. But we do need a way to differentiate each other from the enemy. It also helps get me back into the feel of my old fighting days."

"Good idea, sir. I'm sure we'll succeed with you on our side!"

* * *

A few minutes later, they were at the front gates where the rest of the squad was waiting. This time, Lavinia was waiting with Class G's APC. A small blue jeep was also nearby, with Zeri at the wheel.

The other students began to whisper and point as they watched Welkin walk past in his old Squad Seven uniform, cap and all his old gear, including his flare gun. Welkin then stood next to the jeep.

He turned to everyone and said, "Alright, Class! time to head to the Leanbluff woods and bring Magari back home!"

Everyone raised their weapons, cheered and climbed into the back of the APC. Avan and Cosette climbed into the back of the jeep. Welkin sat in the passenger seat of the jeep, looked back to confirm that everyone was in, then with a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Class G, Move out!"

The Jeep drove forward down the main road of the academy and lead the way, with the APC following right behind them. They then left the academy, drove over the bridge and sped down the dirt road leading towards the Leanbluff woods. Hopefully, they'd get there before nightfall.

* * *

Sometime later, deep inside the Leanbluff woods stood the Rebels vanguard encampment. Their party was small, a little less than thirty soldiers and their one Darcsen prisoner. And it was only now that Magari was beginning to come to.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, her head lifted up. But her body felt constricted, she could not move her arms, which were behind her back. She found that they were tied to a pole. There was a rag stuff into her mouth and tied around her head that muffled any words or sounds that she tried to make. She jerked her entire body left and right a few times to try to escape. Just then, the flap to the tent opened up and there stood the huge fencer that she had encountered earlier.

"Ah, I see you're awake," said the Fencer as he took off his helmet and set it down. He then knelt down in front of Magari and took her by the chin and lifted her head up in order to look into her eyes.

"No fear." said the fencer with a smile, "Even though you know what we plan to do with you before we ultimately kill you.

I must admit, you are so very beautiful… for a dark-hair. If only the rest of your female race were this pretty, then we'd have a much harder time shooting them all."

He then pulled down the rag from Magari's mouth and smiled while clutching her chin. "Does that make you angry to hear?"

Magari shook her head, "My people do not retaliate. We also do not become angry quite so easily."

The Fencer stood up and laughed, "No, you don't! That is why we are having such an easy time exterminating your kind. Every village we've been to, we just gun everyone down and they do not put up the slightest amount of resistance. If you keep this up, it shouldn't be long before this war's over."

He then got up and began to back out of the tent, "I'll be back for you later... because right now... we've got a deserter to find and take care of."

Magari then lowered her head and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that for the moment, she was safe. Not only that, she had hid her real fear quite well under pressure. The truth was that the whole idea of being inside a rebel encampment, fearing for the moment when they would come to beat and rape her over and over again was a terrible fate to have to wait for.

* * *

Sometime later, a few kilo meters away, Class G's APC and the jeep could go no further into the woods. They would make too much noise and have a hard time moving through the dense trees and rough terrain. From here on out, it was on foot.

The students got out of the vehicles and gathered together in a circle. Now they had to find the location where Magari was last known to have been.

"Now that we're here… where do we begin?" Mischlitt asked.

Avan reached back to his rear pouch, "The Head Master gave us a map that shows Magari's planned route for her solo mission." said Avan, showing the map to the rest of the cadets as they crowded around even closer.

The given route wasn't charted too deeply into the woods. It was, however, a very long route that stretched for miles along the outskirts of the huge forest.

Zeri adjusted his glasses with his middle finger and groaned, "It'll take some time to search this whole route… and that's if she didn't venture off course and go further into the woods."

Avan nodded, "I know, but we have to try. Maybe if we-"

"EEEKK!" Cosette screeched as she unbuckled her belt and threw away her pouch packs, "S-s-something's inside my pouch! I could feel it moving around!"

Everyone looked and saw a little bulge sticking out from one of Cosette's pouches, and it really was moving. Avan slowly crept forward, picked up the pouch, opened it and peered inside.

"Jarde?" Avan asked aloud, "Buddy, what are you doing here? I thought I left you back at the academy?"

Avan then lifted Jarde out of the pouch and he began to chirp and whistle. "Alright, buddy, I think it's time to go back into the pouch. We can leave you back at the APC with-"

Suddenly, Jarde took off from Avans hand and tried to fly, but quickly fell to the ground onto his back. "Easy, boy! Don't hurt yourself!" Avan warned and he tried to pick Jarde up. But this time, Jarde actually pecked at his hand, broke free, and then tried to fly once more. This time he was successful. While he was in the air, he turned to the others and began chirping loudly, then took off to the southeast, headed into the woods.

"Strange bird…" Anisette said as she scratched her head.

Avan started to jog away from the group, following Jarde. He turned and yelled, "Come on, guys! Jarde was the last one with Magari! He must be leading us to where he last saw her!"

Welkin nodded, "Birds like Jarde are known for their extreme homing skills. I guarantee that he'll have no trouble leading us back to where he and Magari last were together."

The entire group then began to follow Avan as he looked up at the sky and continued to run after Jarde.

After a few minutes of flying, Jarde descended from the sky and into the trees, then came upon a familiar clearing. With so much pain coursing through his damaged wing, Jarde could barely stay afloat. Having finally made it back to square one with help this time, he dropped his wings and fell the rest of the way to the ground. His poor body came crashing to the ground and skidded to a stop, not far from the scene of the struggle between Magari and her Rebel captors.

Avan and the others then emerged from the bushes and brush that they were running through. A quick look around the area showed that there were once many people here and signs of a struggle. There were many disturbed bushes, flattened grass and broken branches all around. Avan also saw Jarde lying on his back, so he ran up to him and scooped him up.

"Good job, boy. Even though you were injured, you helped us find the exact spot that we were looking for!"

"Spread out! Search the area!" Welkin ordered.

Everyone then fanned out and began checking for any clues as to what happened here or where Magari or anyone else with her may have gone.

A short while into the search, Mischlitt laid her war hammer down and knelt on the ground to inspect something that had caught her eye. She then lifted her head and called for Zeri. He came running and knelt down as well, Mischlitt then showed him what she had collected from off the ground.

"Darcsen hair…" Mischlitt said after showing him the few long strands that she held in her fingertips.

Zeri nodded, "Hmm… There's no mistake when it comes to that color of hair."

"What was that?" Rene asked as she pushed her way past Zeri, nearly knocking him over and took the few strands from Mischlitt, "No… it can't be…"

"Don't worry, Rene," Mischlitt said calmly, "There's no blood or spent bullet cartridges lying around. So there wasn't a fight here, that's for certain."

"I found something!" Avan called out from some bushes he was kneeling in. He then stood up and held up two objects. One was a pair of binoculars, the other was a piece of bread.

Cosette, who was nearby, ran up to Avan and looked at what he had collected. Then she took the piece of bread and sniffed it, a rather strange action, then said, "This bread had to have been made by Alicia. No doubt about it."

Zeri walked up to them while scratching the back of his head, "How can you be so sure?"

Avan shook his head, "She eats it everyday and nearly buys out the bakery when she goes there. Believe me, she knows Alicia's bread when she smells it."

To their left, Anisette and Noel were kneeling against the ground, inspecting the many boot prints that were scattered around the area. One set was unique, the others were the all same.

"These are Lanseal combat boots," Noel pointed out to the smaller pair of footprints.

Anisette nodded, "These have to be rebel combat boots… It confirms what we were worrying about. Magari was definitely taken by the rebels."

"B-but why?" Nichol asked, "Don't the rebels usually kill any Darcsens that they come across…?"

"Nichol!" Franca barked, smacking him in the back of the head, then tilting her head towards Rene, who was standing close by.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Rene…" Nichol apologized.

Rene shook her head and walked away, worrying about all the time that they were wasting by trying to figure out the obvious. Magari was taken, and she was probably only spared because of her exquisite beauty. That was something that even Rene was able to figure out on her own. Even worse, she knew what the fate of someone as beautiful as her best friend would most likely be.

Just as she finished that thought, Alexis shouted to the group, "It's a scout!"

Everyone turned their heads and looked to where Alexis was pointing, and standing there was a lone Rebel with a rifle. The strange thing was that he looked petrified with fear, not something common among the Rebel army.

Rene then shouted, "He probably knows where Magari is! Let's take him prisoner!" The rebel then turned and ran into the woods as fast as he could. Rene dropped her lance, took out her pistol and began to give chase.

The others were about to follow, but Welkin ran to the front of the group and held up his hands, "Hang on, Class! He may not be alone! And this could be a trap!"

Rene looked back as she ran and saw the rest of the class hanging back. Shrilly, she implored them for all that she was worth, "Come on, guys! He's getting away! Hurry!"

Unable to hold himself in place, the naturally bold and hot-headed Avan took off and ran after Rene. Cosette and Zeri followed and tried to catch up. The rest of the class made sure that the area was secure before following.

Up ahead, the lone Rebel continued to run for his life. But his shoulders were constantly bumping into trees, causing him to stumble every few steps. He looked back and saw that he was being chased by a single, but very enraged, orange haired girl.

"Get back here!" Rene screamed as she nimbly weaved past trees like they were opponents in her way on the soccer field.

Suddenly, a branch came swinging out from behind a tree up ahead and Rene saw the Rebel get smacked so hard in the face by it that when his head snapped back, his helmet flew right off.

The Rebel was knocked onto his back, and he was seeing stars and his whole world spun in dizzying circles. As everything was slowly coming back into focus, he looked over and saw a black haired girl with a teal bowtie in her hair. She was snickering and holding a tree branch against her shoulder, her other hand on her hip.

"Where the hell did she come from?" the young rebel asked

Suddenly, the same orange haired girl who was chasing him, climbed on top of him, grabbed him by the front of his jacket. He was then pulled right nose to nose with her. She then screamed, "Where's Magari! Where is she!"

Avan, Cosette and Zeri arrived on the scene and saw Rene shaking the rebel as hard as she could.

"Please, don't hurt me! I'm a deserter!" the rebel soldier cried.

"You're lying! Tell us what you did with Magari!"

Avan and Cosette rushed forward and pried Rene off of the rebel soldier, who now appeared to be quite young and obviously quite frightened.

Zeri stepped between the prisoner and Rene, "Calm down, Rene. Let us take it from here."

"No! He must know what happened to Magari! He appeared at the exact spot where she was taken!"

Welkin and the other students then arrived on the scene and saw that the Rebel had been subdued. Welkin approached Zeri, Cosette and Avan and asked, "What happened here?"

Zeri looked up at Melissa and smiled, "We caught the lone rebel, thanks to Melissa. I didn't even see her leave our group, but she somehow managed to get ahead of us and take him out."

"How in the world did you disappear like that so easily?" Anisette asked in amazement.

"Tee hee, I wouldn't be a very good scout if I couldn't come and go unnoticed whenever I wanted to, now would I?" Melissa snickered.

Welkin then stepped forward, "Alright, let me talk to him."

He then knelt down in front of the Rebel soldier, while behind him, Cosette and Avan were each holding onto Rene's arms, trying to keep her away while Welkin interrogated their prisoner.

"What did you do with Magari! Tell us! Tell us NOW!" Rene screamed.

The Rebel trembled in fear and looked up at all the soldiers that were circled around him, glaring down at him. Welkin then put his hand on his shoulder, "Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you, I promise." Welkin said reassuringly, "My name is Welkin Gunther and we're out here trying to find a squad mate. Her name's Magari and she's a Darcsen. Do you know who we're talking about now?"

The Rebel didn't respond right away, but he was looking at Welkin with surprise in his eyes, "No way… Welkin Gunther? Leader of Squad Seven during the last war?"

Welkin smiled, "Yes, the same."

The Rebel smiled, then Rene interrupted, "Where's Magari, Scumbag! Tell us or I swear I'll kick the living sh-"

Welkin looked back at Rene and held his hand up, "That's enough, Rene!" Welkin ordered, "We're not going to do anything of the sort."

Cosette patted Rene on the shoulder, "You've got to calm down, Rene. Let Welkin handle this."

Avan nodded, "He knows what he's doing. Trust his judgement."

Welkin then went back to speaking with the Rebel, "You said earlier that you were a deserter. What did you mean by that?"

The rebel shook his head and pulled out a tiny blue spiral pendant from around his neck and showed it to Welkin,

"I'm a Yggdist and I signed up to fight after a very moving speech given to us by General Audrey Gassenarl after she learned of Princess Cordelia's deception. She told us that like the princess, all Darcsen's were deceptive, and that their non-hostile outer appearance was all a lie, an act.

She told us that the Princess's confession, combined with the recent flow of Darcsen immigrants from the Empire… was the beginning of another Darcsen ruled Gallia. Audrey said that the Darcsens were coming here to take over Gallia and follow their Darcsen princess in ruling over the Non-Darcsen people once again.

Audrey predicted that the Darcsen's always had this intention in mind… that from the very beginning, they were just waiting… for the right moment to strike. It wasn't hard to believe that that moment was now. Gallia's military was nearly destroyed in the last war, so there wouldn't be much to stand in the Darcsens way from taking over.

I didn't believe it at first, but when the Darcsens started coming into Gallia… with wave after wave of fresh immigrants, and their numbers swelled into the tens of thousands… it seemed like it truly was an invasion force.

So, like many in my home town and of our faith, I took up arms to defend Gallia from once again becoming a Darcsen ruled nation."

Welkin nodded, "I see, go on."

"B-but… what I have seen on the field of battle isn't war… it's genocide," the Rebel said, "Each and every town and village we march into, there is never any resistance. Our army has slaughtered hundreds of Darcsens… Men, Women, Children, Elderly… they gun them down all the same.

If this really were an invasion force trying to take over Gallia, then they would be armed and shooting back. But they aren't and they never do. They stay true to their Darcsen beliefs of non-violence, even in the face of certain death. They're not evil and they're definitely not trying to take over Gallia… We were lied to!"

"And you just couldn't take it anymore?" Welkin asked.

The Rebel shook his head as tears were building up in his eyes, "No… I couldn't. I wanted out… but if I ever tried to desert and was captured… I'd be strung up and my body would be displayed as a warning to any others who wanted out too. But… I decided to try…

I had to wait… until I could find a moment when I could make my escape. That moment came when my unit left me behind to guard the encampment while they scouted ahead. When I was certain they were far enough away, I ran… I ran faster than I have ever run in my entire life. Then… I came upon you and your unit…"

Welkin tilted his head, "Why didn't you just surrender to us?"

The Rebels eyes shifted over to Rene, and she was glaring, her teeth bared as she breathed in and out angrily.

"I was about to… but then she came charging directly at me. Fearing for my life, I turned and ran… then I was caught. I guess I'm dead either way… whether by you or my own unit if they ever catch me."

Welkin nodded, "I believe your story…" said Welkin. He then stood up and offered his hand out to the Rebel. He took it and was helped to his feet. Welkin then held out his hand, "The rifle."

The Rebel handed his rifle over to Welkin, Welkin then smiled and moved his head to the side, "Go on, you're free to go."

"What!" The Rebel asked in disbelief.

"You can't be serious!" Rene shouted

"You're letting him go?" Cosette asked

"Welkin, are you sure that's a good idea?" Avan asked

Welkin didn't answer as he was still talking to the Rebel, "Head back the way we came and you'll come across a dirt road. Walk down it towards Lanseal Academy and turn yourself into the first Army or Lanseal forces that you come across, got it?"

"Y-you mean it… I can just go!" The Rebel asked.

Welkin nodded and smiled, "Keep safe as you go."

The Rebel started to run off as the Class G students moved to clear a path, but he suddenly stopped and rushed back to Welkin, "I… I'm not sure if my unit will still be at the same encampment, perhaps they may have moved after I ran away and continued scouting the area. But here, take this." The Rebel said as he dug out a map in a clear pouch and handed it to Welkin, "It's the last place we were camped. Maybe this Darcsen girl-"

"Her name's Magari!" Rene interrupted.

The Rebel nodded nervously, "Y-yeah, I-If Magari were captured by my unit, then that's where she most likely would have been taken."

Welkin patted the Rebel on the shoulder, "Thank you for this valuable information. Good luck on your way out of the forest."

The Rebel nodded, turned and ran away as fast as he could while laughing happily. Class G's soldiers all watched him leave, then turned to Welkin and looked at him, some with worry in their eyes.

"S-sir… W-what if he was lying?" Nichol asked.

Franca nodded, "He very well could have been. I've never met a good Rebel all throughout this civil war."

Noel was shaking slightly, "W-what if he goes back to his unit and leads them back to us?"

Welkin dusted off his pants, stood up and turned to the students, "He won't. He just wants out of this war."

Alexis shook her head disapprovingly, "I do not think it was wise to let him go off on his own. Perhaps we should have kept him with us, or left him back at the APC, under-guard."

Again, Welkin shook his head, "Don't worry. I promise; he won't report us."

"How can you be so sure?" Mischlitt asked.

Welkin closed his eyes and nodded to himself, "Because I've had an encounter like this before, during the last war. One that still haunts me to this day…

Alicia and I were out scouting out a path through the mountain forests, in order to find a safe route for our tank and soldiers to travel through. But we had to take shelter in a nearby cabin during a sudden snowstorm. As we spent the night there, alone and separated from the rest of the squad, an Imperial soldier suddenly entered the cabin and we were faced with an armed standoff.

After much deliberation and negotiations, we agreed to lower our weapons and share the shelter. But that was when we realized just how severely injured and scared the Imperial soldier really was.

As we attempted to treat him, he told us about how the Imperial army wasn't at all what he expected it to be and how he was forced into battle time and time again. Finally, after so much killing, watching his friends die in battle… it all became too much for him. One night he attempted to run away, but he was shot in the back by his own Imperial comrades, resulting in the injuries we discovered him with.

We both sympathized with him and wanted to help him get away, but… we weren't able to save him. He died of his wounds, but not before he told us how he was glad to have met us and told us his name, to remember him by… and I've never forgotten it…"

Now, nearly all of the Class G soldiers eyes were looking down at the ground sadly.

Avan nodded his head and asked, "What was his name?"

Welkin closed his eyes and sighed, "Mikhail… Mikhail Webber. That was his name."

Welkin then looked back and said, "I saw the same fear in that Rebel boys eyes. Heard the same desperation in his voice… That is why I believe he was telling the truth.

By helping this boy today… I got a chance to do what I couldn't do with Mikhail. I was able to help him safely get away, alive and well. Now he won't have to fight a war that he doesn't want to anymore."

Alexis nodded, "A very noble and admirable move, sir. I never would have thought to do the same thing…"

Avan grinned, "It's why he was the leader of Squad Seven! The greatest militia squad in the whole entire war! Ha-ha!"

Rene broke free of Avan and Cosette's grip and turned her back to everyone, "You may have just endangered Magari's life even more by letting him go!

What if he's caught by his own unit, interrogated and tells them about another Lanseal unit that he encountered out in the forest. One that is trying to rescue their Darcsen prisoner. They'll kill her before we can ever get to her, and it'll be all your fault! "

"Rene, Don't-" Avan started, but that was when Welkin brushed past him.

"It's alright. You've got to trust me, Rene. I know what I'm doing." Welkin said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Rene smacked his hand away and turned to face him and shouted, "Shut up! I can't believe how relaxed you are when Magari is somewhere out there right now, frightened and alone… Who knows what those damn Rebels could be doing to her right now!"

"I know that, Rene. I'm just as worried about her as you are."

"No! You're not!" Rene shot back, "What makes you think you have any idea how I feel? It's so damn easy for you to say that, because you aren't as close to Magari as I am! She's been my friend since childhood!"

Avan stomped towards the two, "Hey! Rene! That's enough-" Avan started.

But Zeri held his arm out and stopped Avan in his tracks. Mischlitt also stood in front of Avan and placed her hand on his chest, keeping him back as well. She then said, "Wait. Don't interfere."

Rene continued with, "So don't tell me to calm down! Because someone I love is in great danger right now! You have Alicia, the love of your life and she's safe and sound back at the academy right now, right?

Maybe if she were out here and in Magari's position, maybe then I'd listen to you. Because then the most important person in your life would be in danger of dying!"

Avan started to move forward again, gritting his teeth. But Mischlitt held her hand firmly against his chest, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Wait. Just wait."

Welkin nodded, "I admit, if Alicia were in this position then I probably wouldn't feel so calm and collected right now.

But… I've already felt something much worse than this…" said Welkin.

He then reached down to his front breast pocket and dug something out and looked at it with such sad eyes. He then held it out to Rene. She took it, looked at it and instantly gasped upon seeing a younger Welkin dressed in civilian clothing with his arm around a small Darcsen girl wearing a green dress and shawl. She wore the shawl that had the Darcsen colors and pattern sown onto it with great pride.

They were both were smiling, both looked extremely close to one another, and their love for each other was clearly evident in this happy picture. But what shocked Rene the most, was that this small Darcsen girl in the picture bore a striking resemblance to Magari.

"Because the most important person in my life has already been taken from me…" Welkin continued with a cracking voice, full of sadness and pain.

Only some of the students like Cosette and Avan gasped upon hearing this. Zeri, Mischlitt and anyone else who knew more about certain events from the last war, already knew that Welkin had a younger Darcsen step-sister… who was killed in the fighting.

Avan now understood why Mischlitt was holding him back, this was something that Welkin needed to say directly to Rene. No one in the entire group could even begin to understand what Rene was feeling, but Welkin knew. He understood not only what it means to lose someone, but what it means to have a Darcsen girl as close to you as a sister would be.

Rene was still holding onto the picture as Welkin sighed and said, "Her name was Isara Gunther. She was my sister, my best friend and… the only family member that I had left.

She was fatally wounded after we had taken the Marberry shores fortress back from the Imperials. But she met her death with great courage, never showing any fear, other than having to leaving her big brother behind, knowing that he'd be alone once she was gone.

I held her in my arms as she died… There was nothing I could do to help her, nothing at all, except be there for her in her final moments."

Cosette was near the point of crying, so she took hold of Avans arm and held onto it. Zeri and Mischlitt looked at each other and shook their heads. Noel took her hat off and held it to her chest. Even Alexis and Anisette had a look of sadness on their face.

"So, Rene… You're not the only one who knows what it's like to lose somebody…"

That was when Welkin heard someone fall to the ground. A quick look over his shoulder showed Rene to be sitting on the forest floor while holding a hand cupped over her mouth. She already had tears flowing down her cheeks and she was releasing stifled sobs.

"Rene?" Welkin asked as he rushed up to her and knelt down next to her.

She removed her hand from her mouth, and took Welkin's hand, "I'm sorry!" she sobbed, "I didn't know… I didn't mean to-"

Welkin then hugged her head against his chest and rested his cheek on top of her head, "It's alright…" he said comfortingly while rocking her softly back and forth, letting her have a good cry. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Rene. I know how sad, angry and worried you must be feeling for Magari right now…"

Welkin blinked away some tears, "But we're going to get her back! I promise you; we'll find Magari and bring her home!"

* * *

An hour later, most of the cadets were huddled around a series of tiny burning fires, trying to keep warm now that the sun had set.

Avan, Zeri and Cosette sat around a small burning fire, small enough to not give off too much light, but still able to provide some comfortable level of warmth.

Avan looked over his shoulder, spotting Welkin and Rene sitting together, chatting quietly in front of another small fire.

"Wow… I had no idea that Welkin had a Darcsen step-sister." said Avan.

Cosette nodded, then looked over at Zeri, "But you seemed to know, right Zeri?"

Zeri chuckled and nodded his head, "About Isara Gunther? Of course I knew. She's famous amongst the Darcsen people. Not only for the fact that she was the pilot of the Edelweiss, but because she's the biological daughter of Theimer; Inventor of the Edelweiss, brilliant mechanic and weapons inventor.

His daughter Isara was so much like him; just as brilliant, just as skilled with a wrench and just as good at inventing things."

"If anyone knows what Rene is going through… it's Welkin." said Cosette.

Avan nodded, then some movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He and everyone else instinctively picked up their weapons and aimed them at the possible approaching threat.

Melissa and Lotte then appeared as soon as they entered the light of the fires, both seemed out of breath and had some sweat glistening on their faces and foreheads.

Lotte then approached Avan and saluted him, "Avan, sir! We… we…" Lotte panted.

"It's alright. Take your time." Avan said softly.

Melissa took over, "We found the rebel encampment. It was exactly where that deserter said it would be."

Avan was about to answer, but Welkin softly pushed past him, "How far from here?" he asked, seemingly taking charge.

"Less than a mile, sir. Our own encampment is seemingly right on their doorstep." Melissa continued.

Welkin nodded, "Take me there. I want to see it for myself, so I can plan the rescue mission accordingly."

As Class Chair, Avan was about to object, but he quickly remembered the conversation he had overheard between Alicia and Welkin. Along with hearing about Welkin's Darcsen step-sister that he was unable to save during the last war, and seeing how it still haunted him to this day. Knowing this, Avan had no trouble handing command of Class G over to Welkin.

"Lead the way." said Avan, he then turned to the rest of the class. "Wait here. We'll be back soon."

Together, Avan, Welkin, Zeri, Cosette and Melissa were about to set off. But before they could, Rene rushed up to the group and tugged on Welkin's arm. "I'm coming with you."

Welkin looked off to the side and thought for a moment, "Very well… But as long as you're with us, you'll do as I command… for both your safety and Magari's."

Rene took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Alright… I'll try my best."

"Good, then let's go!" said Welkin. He and his small group then headed off to scout out the Rebel encampment.

* * *

A short time later, Welkin and the others were slowly crawling through some tall grass on a small hill overlooking the fair sized rebel camp. There were about a dozen tents set up in a large square pattern. The entire camp was surrounded by barbed wire with wooden posts that looked to have been quickly pounded into the ground. Two machine gun emplacements were set up at either end of the camp, those being the entrance and exits. Worst of all, there had to be twenty or more soldiers inside. Though this was only the small Rebel vanguard force, it was still twice as large as Class G's current force.

Avan noticed Cosette trembling next to him, "W-we'll never be able to get in… it's too well guarded!"

Welkin meanwhile was scanning the base with his binoculars, "Not quite so… the enemy have no tanks, no heavy artillery or any other kind of heavy weapon support. It'll be tough, but if we plan this just right… we may be able to pull it off."

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the encampment, Magari was still struggling to break free from her bonds. Though her wrists were cut up from rubbing against the rough rope, she was close to pulling one hand out. The sound of the tent flap opening snapped her head forward again. And there stood the Rebel fencer leader. He removed his yellow helmet and threw it to the other side of the tent, also kicking a small folding table over.

"The traitor scum got away! We searched everywhere!" He roared. Then he turned to Magari and eyed her with near insatiable lust. "Oh, It's been a tough day… and I could use a release."

He then rushed forward and began to kiss her mouth, all the while Magari was struggling to pull her head away, trying hard to keep her mouth clamped shut. She whimpered in disgust. He tasted of sweat and strong drink… had he really been searching for the traitor, she wondered. If so, it wasn't while sober.

He held onto the back of her head tightly, pulling her forward, trying to force his wriggling tongue into her mouth. Which was a big mistake. As soon as it entered, Magari clamped down hard, biting into it and drawing blood.

The Fencer yelled in rage and pulled his tongue free and held his mouth as blood dripped to the ground.

"Woo Dark-hawed Bwitch!" He screamed, drawing his fist back and smacking her across the cheek with the back of his hand. Magari screamed as loud as she could after the blow.

* * *

So loud in fact that Welkin and the others on the nearby hill actually heard her high pitched shriek of terror. Seconds later in the camp below, some soldiers began to scurry around, some rushing to the source of the scream, located in the middle of the camp.

Hearing her best friend in such distress, Rene nearly lost all control of herself and was about to climb to her feet to rush to Magari's aid. But as she tried**, **she felt an enormous weight throw itself on top of her and pin her to the ground. A hand also clamped tightly around her mouth.

"Shh! Calm down, Rene." Welkin whispered into her ear, "I know it's hard but you've got to remain quiet, otherwise you'll give away our position. Then there'll be no chance to save Magari."

Avan joined in, "At least now we know that Magari is still alive, Rene. That means there's still a chance to save her."

Welkin nodded, "If for no on else, then do it for Magari, Rene."

Tears of anger and the helplessness of not being able to help her best friend streamed down Rene's face and over Welkin's hand.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the Rebel encampment, the Rebel leader was no longer alone in his tent. Two other soldiers were now in there. One tending to the leaders badly cut tongue, the other waiting to deliver a message.

"We just received word from the main force, sir. They'll be here sometime tomorrow afternoon, sir. They want one last report of our findings in the surrounding area and whether it's still safe to move through."

The Rebel fencer took the bloody rag out of his mouth and tossed it aside in frustration. "What's there to tell?" He asked angrily, "How many times do we need to tell them that it's 'All Clear' from here!"

"Sorry, sir. Just telling you what I was ordered to deliver."

The leader shook his head, "Fine, I'll be right there."

The two soldiers saluted, then left the tent. Meanwhile, the leader was walking to the other side of his tent, he retrieved his helmet from off the ground and tucked it under his arm. He then held his chin as he looked down at his Darcsen prisoner, still tied to the main post of the tent and he smiled down at her.

She had a dark purple bruise on either cheek, the first blow only hurt her. The second blow semi-knocked her out and her head was slowly swaying from side to side as she moaned.

"You've still got some spunk left in you… even after we haven't fed you or anything." the leader teased, "Well… I'll just come back a little later. Maybe then you'll be too weak to resist."

With that, he ducked under the tent flap and left Magari in her dazed state and headed off.

* * *

Back on the hill, Zeri was hurriedly sketching the layout of the camp into a notepad. After some careful observations he was able to tell where Magari was located within, seeing as how that's where the scream came from, where the rebels rushed to, and the leader bearing the yellow helmet emerged from.

"Alright, I'm done here." said Zeri.

"Me too." said Avan, he had committed the layout to memory.

Welkin was still pinning Rene down, his hand still held firmly around her mouth. "I'm going to take my hand away… promise me you won't yell or anything?"

Rene nodded her head, then as promised, she kept quiet as Welkin moved his hand away.

Welkin then waved his head back, "Alright, let's go back." he instructed and everyone slowly crawled backwards through the tall grass and snuck quietly back to the others from Class G.

Not long after, Welkin and the others were back at the camp. But it was Zeri who led the briefing of what they found. Welkin was walking through the forest a short distance away. Sometimes he bent down, scooped up a handful of soil and let it sift through his fingers, then moved on. Other times he was looking up at the sky, the stars and the moon above. As if taking some kind of observations that only he himself knew about.

Avan and Cosette rushed over to Welkin, "Something on your mind, sir?" Avan asked.

Welkin tapped his chin for a few moments, "What kind of equipment did we bring along for this mission, besides our weapons and APC?"

"Our utility APC is loaded down with shovels, picks and other tools, sir. We didn't have a chance to offload it and refit from the previous mission." Cosette answered.

"Good, this is very good." said Welkin. He then walked back to the group and interrupted the briefing.

"Alright class, head back to the APC and offload all of the tools used for digging. Then I want half of you to break off into pairs and prepare to start digging holes.

I'll come over to your groups one by one and tell you how far out I want them spaced, and how deep and wide I want each groups hole to be.

The other half will start collecting branches, bushes and anything else we can cover the holes with-"

"You want us to dig holes!" Rene interrupted. "What about Magari! We can't waste time on such a ridiculous task!"

"Trust me, this is an essential part of the rescue mission." said Welkin reassuringly.

"But-" Rene started. But she stopped when a hand planted on her shoulder. She looked back and saw Mischlitt glaring at her.

"Listen to the Lieutenant, Rene. He knows how to use his numbers wisely. I for one trust Magari's life in his more than capable hands."

Zeri nodded, then turned to the others, "You heard the Lieutenant! Head back to the APC and bring the tools he requested, quickly!"

As the others did as they were told, Avan walked up to Welkin, leaned in and whispered. "So… what's the plan?"

Welkin turned and smiled, "Tell me, Do you know of a clever little hunter known as… 'The trap door' spider?"

Avan shook his head, "No… why?"

"If all goes well… then our numbers won't matter."

Hours later, dawn was approaching, and a very, very thick layer of fog was beginning to roll into the woods of Leanbluff. It was so thick that it made the current rebel patrol very difficult, even spooky.

Four rebels were walking in a line formation, the squad leader turned to his troops. "Eyes sharp, men! We're going to have to be extra vigilant today, given the current weather conditions."

The soldier trailing in the back groaned, "How are we supposed to find anything in this blasted fog."

The soldier next to him slapped him on the shoulder, "Relax, pal! A few more hours and we'll be joined by the rest of the main force. Then, we'll be able to retire to the rear and let the others handle the real work."

"Then let's wrap up this patrol, and quick. I'm itching to get back to camp and have a go at that beautiful dark-hair that we captured yesterday." said a younger scout.

"I thought for sure she was only a lookout for a much larger group. But we've yet to encounter any other Lanseal or regular army forces." said a shock trooper.

"Lanseal scouts, dead ahead!" the squad leader shouted while pointing to a young girl with a blue and red beret. A young girl with black hair and a teal bowtie in her hair was standing right next to her.

"Uh oh. RUN~!" shouted the girl with the beret. She dropped her mortar lance and ran. Her squad mate dropped her rifle, then turned and ran as fast as she could.

The shock trooper eagerly rubbed his hands together, "Great! More beautiful women that we can have some fun with. They're unarmed, so let's take them alive!"

The group of rebels then began to give chase, that was when the two girls split up and ran in opposite directions.

"Half of you follow the other girl, the rest of you are with me!" the leader ordered.

Two followed the black haired girl, the rest followed the beret wearing girl.

Meanwhile, Noel looked over her shoulder as she ran and smiled, "It's working."

She then looked forward and spotted her hiding place; a small hole in the ground, with a grey wool blanket draped over top, which had grass, dirt, and other forest floor coverings on top of it, providing excellent camouflage. This was all propped up by a stick. Noel then slide along the ground feet first, like she was sliding into second base, while knocking the branch aside and she completely disappeared. Now, with the blanket down and covering the hole, she blended in perfectly with the rest of the forest background.

Moments later, the two rebel soldiers entered the area. But, the girl they were after was gone and all was quiet once again.

The shock trooper walked ahead and looked around, barely missing stepping on top of Noel's hiding place. The scout that was with him was trembling as he swung his gun around and searched

"I-I think that we should go back, sir. There may be more out there."

"Just shut up and look! She can't have gone far! Maybe she went to the ground and- AAAHHH!" He and his squad mate screamed as their ankles were grabbed and pulled back hard, causing them to fall forward.

The shock trooper quickly looked back and saw a silver haired girl with a blue and white bowtie in her hair, along with a Darcsen girl wearing glasses holding onto his ankles. They had both emerged from a large hole in the ground with a camouflaged tarp covering it.

Opposite of the shock trooper, his squad mate was in the exact same predicament. But his ankles were being held by a brown haired girl and a brown haired boy with freckles, both had been hiding in hole covered by a camouflaged blanket or tarp as well.

Then, in perfect unison and with a mighty tug, the shock trooper and his squad mate were pulled into the separate holes. Their cries for help were quickly silenced as they disappeared under the camouflaged blankets and could no longer be distinguished with the rest of the surrounding forest.

Moments later, Anisette and Mischlitt emerged from their hiding place. Across from them, Nichol and Franca came out of their covered hole and replaced the camouflaged blanket back over the top, completely hiding the bodies from view.

Noel them stood up from her hiding place, "Great job, guys!" she praised, "That went perfectly."

Franca shook her head, "Trap door spider… How in the world did the lieutenant ever think up something like this."

"It wouldn't be the first time Welkin took an idea from nature and turned it into a brilliant strategy for use on a battlefield." Mischlitt said with admiration.

"Alright, time to get back to the group. I'm sure the Rebels will come to investigate their missing patrol sometime soon." Anisette said.

* * *

At the Rebel encampment a few minutes later, the sole surviving Rebel was spotted by the front entrance gunners. He was waving his hands wildly, and screaming like a mad man.

"Help~!" He cried, "The rest of my patrol is gone!"

The Rebel fencer leader approached the trembling young scout, "Quit your babbling and tell me what happened, boy!"

The younger scout shook his head, "I-I can't really explain it, sir! One moment we were all on patrol, the next minute we were chasing two Lanseal scouts. B-but I got separated from the others when I was ordered to search a designated area.

When I came back… the others were gone!"

"Gone?" asked the Fencer, "What do you mean by 'Gone', soldier? Come on! Give me proper details!"

"T-that's just it, sir…" said the scout, "I tried to go back and regroup with the others… But I couldn't find them! All I found… was this." He then held up a single grey helmet.

"That's all?"

The scout nodded, "Yes, sir. I never heard a single gunshot, couldn't find a drop of blood, a spent bullet cartridge or anything! I-it's like they just… vanished."

The fencer looked over to the other junior officers and nodded his head, then turned to the whole camp and shouted, "Prepare for battle! We're going out to find the source of these disappearances! Whoever's behind this, we'll find them and make them pay!"

A young shock trooper ran to the middle of the base and stepped up onto an overturned box, raised a bugle to his mouth and trumpeted out a call to action tune repeatedly. The base then went into a frenzy of activity. Soldiers were running to their tents to gather their weapons, armour and gear. The soldiers at the front and rear exits of the base were cocking back the action of their large machine guns and aiming them towards the foggy forests.

* * *

At the same time, all the noise and shouting from the soldiers had finally awoken Magari from her unconscious state. She gave her head a shake, then quickly remembered where she was and what was going on. Now that she saw that she was all alone again, she went back to working on trying to get free and escape while the base was preoccupied with other things. Her poor wrists were nearly rubbed raw, her eyes glistened with tears, but she fought through the pain and continued to try and pull one of her hands free.

* * *

Not long after, much of the base was emptied and the large force of Rebels were moving through the forest in a line of battle towards the last known location of the lost rebel patrol. A minute or two later they had arrived. But by now the fog was worse than it was in the morning, making it hard to see even a few meters in all directions. This spooked some of the younger soldiers as they continued to walk forward.

Suddenly, "GAAHH!" screamed the lead scout as he was struck multiple times by rifle fire and dropped to the ground, dead.

"Get down!" screamed the fencer leader, and all of the soldiers moved behind trees, or got low to the ground and looked up ahead. Though it was hard to see, the soldiers could make out multiple yellow muzzle flashes from a large patch of bushes and shrubs. They had found their attackers position.

Some of the Rebel scouts and shock troopers began to fire back at the enemy position. A braver shock trooper got up, ran while pulling the pin on a grenade and threw it with all his might towards the bushes. It exploded just in front of the bush and some of the firing from the enemy ceased.

_This is strange_, thought the Fencer. The firing from the enemy was wild, erratic and horribly aimed. Either their enemy were inexperienced in battle, or the fog was giving them the same amount of trouble with their aiming.

Whatever the case, the enemy was still firing at them and missing constantly. They were doing nothing more than rapidly exhausting their ammo supplies with such terrible aim. That made the Fencer smile, "Fix bayonets!" he ordered. Everyone quickly followed the order, and the Fencer got his large sword and shield ready for action.

Then, one by one, the muzzle flashes up ahead began to cease, and in a matter of seconds all was silent. The Fencer grinned, then shouted, "Charge!"

All of the soldiers yelled as they got up and began to charge across the open forest ground towards the enemy position up ahead. They must have still been in the process of reloading, because they weren't firing or doing anything to stop the full on charge.

"What the! AAHH!" screamed some of the soldiers on either side of the flanks as they fell into large covered pits and disappeared beneath the ground. At the same time, the soldiers in the middle, including the fencer leader, reached the spot where the muzzle flashes had originated.

But there were no enemy soldiers within the bushes, only rifles propped up on sticks with strings tied around their triggers. The long length of strings from the triggers led into a small, but now empty hole in the ground with a camouflaged blanket lying nearby. That was when the fencer leader realized it. Whoever was in that hole was completely shielded from all the return fire, even the grenade explosion as they pulled the triggers blindly… an ambush!

"Attack, Class G!" echoed a young mans voice throughout the foggy forest. The Fencer looked back and saw multiple soldiers spring forth from the ground, throwing blankets aside as they emerged from holes like gophers and started attacking.

One silver haired girl jumped up her hole and began to spray the whole area with machine gun fire as she laughed wildly. Another girl with a mortar lance stood up, aimed and fired into the middle of a bunched up group of soldiers, sending them flying when the round exploded.

"It's the Lanseal forces!" a Rebel scout shouted.

The Fencer roared, "Bloody cowards! What a dirty trick that was!"

One of his junior officers came running up to him, "Sir! We must pull back!"

The fencer cursed, and then looked around. He could only make out a small number of his once large force of twenty soldiers. But the Rebels stood no chance here. Before anyone could make out exactly where the Lanseal soldiers were attacking from, they ducked back down into their holes and others stood up from elsewhere and continued firing. Almost like a deadly game of 'whack-a-mole'.

"Back to the camp!" The fencer shouted, "All troops! Fall back!"

The Rebels turned and started to run back towards the camp, while all the Lanseal cadets emerged from their holes and began to cheer, both at the complete success of their clever ambush and at the sight of the fleeing Rebels.

A short distance away, Zeri popped out of his small hole and smiled, "Phase one complete… Let's hope phase two goes just as well." He said to Mischlitt who was with him. Zeri then cupped his hands against the side of his mouth, "Regroup! Make for the camp, but slowly! Let's give the others time to complete phase two!"

* * *

Back at the camp, the now panicky group of Rebels were finally coming into view from the gunners position. "Don't shoot!" the Fencer shouted, and the gunners lowered the barrel and let them run past and enter the camp.

The furious fencer threw his helmet to the ground, then turned to the others. "All forces! Be ready for the oncoming attack! I want mortar teams on the north entrance! Troops to take up position amongst the sandbags, and extra ammo for the gunners!"

"Yes, sir!" the small band of survivors shouted. There were only Eleven left, with the remaining eight that had stayed at the camp.

A small group of six soldiers were running back to the armoury to collect the mortar emplacements and shells. They entered and saw a lone crouching Rebel soldier at the grenade box, next to the fifty calibre machine gun rounds.

"What are you doing here?" the mortar officer asked.

The Rebel stood up, turned and saluted them, "Orders, sir! I was sent to gather extra ammunition for the machine gun emplacements, sir!" said in a strange voice.

A corporal looked at the short Rebel, "Aren't you a little short for a soldier?

The mortar officer turned to the Corporal, "Shut up! We've got to hurry and get set up before those Lanseal kids get here."

He then tuned back to the small Rebel soldier. "Very well. Carry on, soldier!" said the officer. They then moved past him and gathered the two mortar tubes, base plates and explosive shells and then exited the armoury tent.

Meanwhile, most of the soldiers were moving to the northern position, jumping into the small cut trenches and aiming their rifles and machine guns over the sandbag defences. The machine gunners pointed their barrels towards the forests and waited. Close by, the mortar crews were busy erecting their mortar tubes and laying out shells in firing order. "Be ready!" the fencer shouted.

On the other side of the camp, which was mostly abandoned, a single Rebel soldier ran up to the machine gun emplacement and set down two boxes of ammo. He then knelt down next to the two gunners.

"Alright, they'll be coming straight at us from this position! Be ready! Eyes forward, got it?" the soldier said.

"They won't get past us!" The gunner replied eagerly. The belt feeder nodded and held the belt out straight as he searched for targets along with the gunner.

"Good, and remember; eyes forward!" the soldier said as he slowly back up, "Eyes forward… eyes forward…"

He then turned and began to run as fast as he could away from the machine gun crew. The gunner and belt feeder looked back, and then down at the ground… where multiple grenade sticks were cooking on the ground, all of their cords pulled.

"Oh shi-" was all they both managed to scream, before all of the grenades exploded, completely obliterating the gun emplacement.

At the northern end of the camp, the fencer stood up and looked back after hearing a massive explosion go off. The other soldiers also turned, just in time to see a huge ball of black smoke and fire rise up into the air.

Immediately afterward, an even larger explosion shook the entire camp, coming from the armoury and ammo storage tent. And while their attention was focused on that area of the camp, another Rebel soldier pulled the cords on another large bundle of grenades, tossed them next to the pile of mortar shells and took off running into the middle of the camp.

One of the soldiers manning the mortar happened to look back and see bundle, he turned to the others, "Get dow-" But too late as the grenades exploded and destroyed both the machine gun and the mortars, along with their crews. The soldiers nearest to it were hit by the wall of fire and shrapnel. The blast wave took care of the others, throwing them to the ground.

The Fencer was dazed, and slowly he began to sit up, shaking his head as the ringing in his ears began to die down. He looked over at the burning wreckage from the destroyed machine gun and mortars. As his hearing returned, he could hear all of his soldiers moaning and groaning from the ground.

Before he could even give an order, he heard the sound of shouting and gunfire coming from the forest. He looked back and saw the Lanseal forces approaching, and he knew that they were the ones behind this sabotage.

"Fall back into the camp, men! Fall back! We've got no cover here!" The fencer ordered.

As the Fencer watched his soldiers run away in fear from the front entrance, he growled, "Damn it all."

He then followed his soldiers and they re-grouped in the middle of the camp, trying to set up boxes or any cover they could before the Lanseal forces entered the camp and overwhelmed them.

An idea then came to the fencer, "Hold them off here for as long as you can, men!" He ordered. He then turned with an evil grin and started towards his tent, which held their Darcsen prisoner. "If they're coming for you, girl… They're going to be sorely disappointed when they find you dead!"

* * *

Back at the Fencers tent, Magari had finally gotten one of her hands free from the pole. She quickly untied her other hand, then leaned forward to work on getting her feet free. But before she could do so, a lone Rebel with a machine gun ducked under the tent flap and looked at her.

Magari screamed, and tried to back away. The Rebel tossed aside his machine gun, ran up to Magari and cupped his hand over her mouth.

"No, no, no! Shh! Shh! Keep quiet, Magari!" The Rebel pleaded.

Magari froze, her eyes wide in surprise. That was when the Rebel took off his helmet and looked back down at Magari. And to her surprise… it was Welkin Gunther, disguised in a rebel uniform. He then knelt down and began to untie Magari's rope bound feet.

"Welkin! What are you-"

"No time for that!" Welkin said as he finished untying Magari's feet. "Let's get out of here while the Rebels are still confused and disorganized."

He then helped Magari to her feet, but before he could lead her out of the tent, she broke free from his grip unexpectedly, "Wait! There's something I need to get!" She then moved to collect her belt and pouch packs from off the nearby table.

Welkin looked back, "Come on, Magari! There's no time to- Oof!" Welkin then fell forward, knocked out cold. Magari gasped as she looked down at Welkin, then looked back up. To her horror, she spotted the Rebel fencer standing there. He was holding his sword backwards, and there was some blood on the pommel of his sword handle.

"Surprised to see me?" He asked with a grin, "Surely you didn't think I was going to let your friends get you out of here alive, did you?"

Magari backed up, but soon bumped into some large crates, now there was no where else to go.

The Fencer raised his sword up and pointed the tip at Magari's chest, "No ones going to save you now!"

Suddenly, another Rebel soldier came charging into the tent tackled the fencer from behind. They both flew forward, and Magari dove out of the way at the last second, just as they crashed into the main support post for the tent and knocked it over. The whole tent then folded inward and collapsed on top of everyone inside, engulfing them in darkness.

Magari quickly crawled on her stomach and tried to find a way out. Despite the darkness, she could hear sounds of a fight or struggle between her and her new saviour. As Magari continued to crawl, she came across a body and quickly knew that it had to be Welkin. Rather than continue on, she pulled his body close and held onto him, making it her mission to protect him.

A moment later, the huge fencer roared and was able to lift the whole tent as he stood up, and then threw it aside. Magari could now see what the situation inside the base was. Many of the tents were burning, hand to hand fighting was going on all around the base between her fellow classmates and the remaining Rebel forces. She also saw the face of her saviour; it was Rene, also wearing a Rebel uniform, but her helmet was removed now.

The Fencer retrieved his sword from off the ground, but left his shield where it was. Rene looked around and next to her foot, she found one of the long thick metal support poles for the tent. She picked it up and held it like a staff. She then placed herself a short distance in front of Magari and Welkin.

"I will kill you if you touch her!" She screamed.

"I'd like to see you try!" The Fencer yelled as he charged forward and performed a powerful overhead swing. Rene sidestepped out of the way, just in time to avoid being cut in half. Rene then swung her pole at the Rebel and hit him hard in the back. He cursed, then charged at Rene and their intense fight began.

The Rebel swung his sword, cutting through the air repeatedly. Thankfully, most of the cuts were blocked by Rene's makeshift staff weapon. All the while, Magari was holding Welkin's head in her lap and watching her best friend with awe. She had never seen Rene fight with such intensity to defend her before now.

Mid-way through the fight, the Fencer turned his hips and side swung at Rene, putting all his massive weight and strength into the swing. Rene raised the metal pole up in front of her and blocked with the middle of the shaft. This time, however, the swing was so hard from the muscular fencer, that she was knocked off her feet and fell onto her back. The Rebel ran up to Rene while roaring and began to perform overhead swings and chops at her downed form. Rene held the pole up and blocked some blows, and was able to deflect others, but knew she wouldn't be able to do so for long.

As the Fencer brought the sword overhead for another chop, Rene thrust the pole forward, right into the side of his knee, collapsing his leg. He roared, dropped his sword and tried to punch her. But Rene thrust the pole forward and smacked the fencer in the face with the section of pole held between her two hands. This only enraged him even more, so he grabbed her hands that were holding the pole, trapping them. He then pulled Rene forward, slamming her poor face into his metal helmet multiple times in a series of sickening head-butts.

Her grip around the pole weakened as her eyes rolled up into her head, and a stream of blood flowed down her forehead from a deep, gruesome gash. Once the fencer released his tight grip around her trapped hands, she fell onto her back and blacked out. The Fencer smiled, removed his slightly dented helmet and threw it aside. He then stood up, walked over to his sword and picked it up. He then loomed over Rene's downed figure and aimed the tip of his sword over her brave heart. He then heard a scream.

He looked over and saw the pretty Darcsen girl looking at him with horror in her eyes, he grinned evilly, "You get to watch her die!"

Just as the fencer raised his sword up, the sound of another girl screaming angrily caught his attention. He looked to his left and spotted an armoured tech Darcsen girl with glasses, charging at him.

"Mischlitt!" Magari yelled.

"Bah, another Dark-haired bitch!" The Fencer said in disgust. He ignored the pretty Darcsen and his previous attacker and charged towards the other Darcsen girl with glasses, yelling as he ran at her.

Half-way through his charge, he dropped his sword and continued on. And just when Mischlitt swung her large hammer at him, he caught it by the shaft halfway through the swing and stopped it dead cold with his massive strength. He then pulled Mischlitt forward and slammed his forehead into the bridge of her nose and dazed her. He then pulled her shield from her arm and performed an overhead smash, just as Mischlitt snapped out of her daze and attempted to cover her head with her hands and arms. Once she was slammed into the ground, he brought the whole shield over his head and threw it on top of her downed body in one final despicable act.

"Mischlitt! No!" Magari screamed as she jumped up onto the Fencers back.

"Get off me, Dark-hair!" The Fencer roared as he spun around in circles. But Magari held on tight, then bit into his ear as hard as she could, all while growling. The Fencer screamed in pain, then backed up and slammed Magari into a pile of boxes behind them. Magari groaned in pain as the air was knocked clean out of her. Her grip around his throat weakened slightly

He stepped forward a few steps, then threw all his weight back and slammed her into the pile of boxes once again. This time, her arms that were once wrapped around his neck, had let go. He grabbed both of her hands and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her even harder into the ground this time.

Magari moaned and rolled over onto her stomach. The Fencer walked up to her and kicked her right in the stomach, sending her rolling a short distance away. "Damn, Dark-hair!" He screamed as he kicked her again, sending her rolling once more. "If I had known that you'd cause this much of a calamity, I'd have killed you the moment I first saw you!"

Nearby, "No… Magari… No…" Mischlitt said weakly, her hand was extended out towards Magari. As beat up as she was, Mischlitt still tried to crawl towards Magari and help her. She was also getting very close to her war hammer now. Just a few more inches and she'd have her weapon back in her hands.

The Fencer shook his head, "Stubborn dark-hairs…". He then walked towards Mischlitt and just as her hand wrapped around the shaft of her war hammer, the fencer stepped on top of it. Mischlitt gritted her teeth and groaned painfully. The Fencer then wound up and kicked her right across the face, sending her already broken glasses flying, as well as knocking her out cold.

The Fencer quickly picked up Mischlitt's large war hammer and started back towards Magari, gripping it tightly. Magari was weak and so very sore by now, she simply rolled over onto her back and didn't have the strength to fight or defend herself anymore. The Fencer then looked down at her and growled, "I'm going to enjoy smashing your greasy head in!"

But just as he brought the hammer back, he could hear another girl screaming, coming from directly behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the same orange haired girl back on her feet, pole back in her hands as well. She then body checked him, hockey style, right in the middle of his back. He flew forward and crashed into an already fiercely burning tent a short distance ahead and fell into it.

He screamed loudly as he was being burned alive. His body thrashed wildly, his arms flew all over the place. The other half of the burning tent then fell inward and pinned him down as he continued to thrash and burn.

Magari looked away, as did Rene. It was a gruesome sight, one they didn't want to watch anymore, not even for someone as evil as he was. Then, moments later, all of his screams stopped and his body became still. Rene sighed heavily as she realized that the fighting was either over or dying down, both here and all over the base.

Rene then let go of her pole weapon and it fell to the ground with a clang. She leaned forward slightly and panted in pure exhaustion. Her breath was visible in the cool morning air. Sweat was steaming off of her orange air and the rest of her body as she looked around at the flaming rebel base in disbelief. A few hours ago, from her observation point at the nearby hill, she'd never have believed that it was even possible to take this base with so few soldiers. But somehow… they did.

Slowly, Rene turned to Magari and looked at her.

"Magari…" she said softly. She then started to walk towards her best friend.

Magari looked up at Rene with relief and joy in her eyes. But, in the blink of an eye, her expression changed to one of pure horror. "RENE!" Magari screamed as she pointed to something behind her best friend.

Rene turned with wide eyes and saw the most horrible sight she could ever expect to see; The fencer was back on his feet, his whole body still engulfed in flame. His sword was back in his hands and held over his head as he roared in extreme anger and charged at Rene.

Rene looked all around for a weapon, and found another pole, though this one was much thinner and lighter. She bent down and picked it up, bringing it up over her head to defend herself. She managed to successfully block the attack, but the once straight pole was instantly bent into a '**V**' shape by the massive hit. Thankfully, the sharp blade stopped just an inch from Rene's face and she fell onto her back with the bent pole still in her hands.

The Fencer roared like a wild beast, then brought the sword back overhead for one final killing swoop. Rene's protective instincts took over and she rolled over and threw herself on top of Magari in a last desperate attempt to protect her best friend by shielding her body with her own. Completely willing to sacrifice her own life to save her best friend's, without even a second thought.

A brightly burning flare round then struck the fencer right in his open, roaring mouth and became lodged in there as it burned fiercely. The Fencer let go of his sword and grasped his throat as the force of the blow threw him back and he landed once again in the burning fire of the tent. This time, he didn't get back up.

Rene and Magari could hardly believe what had just happened, so they looked back and saw Welkin in a sitting position with a flare gun in his hand. The end of the barrel was smoking, it was him who had saved the two of them. He then dropped the gun and fell onto his back, closed his eyes and exhaled deeply in relief.

"It's over…" He said aloud.

Magari and Rene also breathed a sigh of relief in unison. Magari fell back and rested her head against the ground. Rene fell forward and rested her head against Magari's chest. And both remained quiet for a moment or two, then Rene asked, "Why… Tell me why…"

"What?" Magari asked as she raised her head.

Rene then looked up at Magari with tears glistening in her emerald green eyes. "Why didn't you take me with you… I would have gone anywhere with you, you must have know that, Magari!"

"I'm sorry, Rene." Magari said as she felt tears start to sting her eyes as well, "I should have-"|

But she didn't have time to finish as Rene crawled forward and was now nose to nose with Magari as she lay on top of her and looked deep into her eyes. She then caressed Magari's bruised cheek, "You're my best friend… You are everything to me, Magari… Everything!" Rene said as she continued to stroke Magari's cheek.

Two tear drops then landed on Magari's cheek and streamed down, leaving visible streaks. "If anything ever happened to you… I don't know what I'd do…" Rene sobbed.

Magari placed her hand around the back of Rene's neck and pulled her forward, kissing her on the cheek, then embracing her into a hug as they cried hard against each others shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Rene! I'll never leave you behind again!"

* * *

Meanwhile, all over the base, the fighting had stopped. All the Rebels were either dead or had retreated into the forest, alone or in pairs. The cadets of Class G were walking around the base, searching for any stragglers or regrouping with their friends.

Avan, Cosette and Zeri walked together through the base and couldn't believe that it was taken so easily and with their few numbers. The Lieutenant truly was a master strategist. And this sense of accomplishment that they were feeling must have been the same that his old squad felt in the last war, after a plan had worked out so well.

"You know… those colors kind of suit you, Avan." Cosette teased as she looked at Avan, still dressed in a Rebel uniform.

Avan rolled his eyes, "I can't wait to get this thing off! Still… it was quite exhilarating being among the enemy and not even being noticed."

Just then, Melissa and Lotte rushed up to the group. "Sir! Look at what we found in one of the tents!" Lotte said excitedly as she held up a map and papers with Rebel radio frequencies, along with other valuable information.

"These show the exact path that the Rebel main force will take when they make their push north. As well as their strength, numbers and other crucial information that we can use to plan our defence perfectly." Melissa added.

Avan smiled and held up a hand, "All in good time, Melissa." He then pointed up ahead and they saw Rene and Magari in a loving embrace. "I've got to tell the others! See to the injured, Cosette!"

"Right away!" Cosette said with a laugh.

* * *

Avan then ran to the middle of the encampment, leapt up onto a large crate and shouted, "Magari's alive, guys! We did it!"

Everyone raised their weapons up and cheered or clapped. Friends hugged each other and congratulated one another. Most of all, there were a few members in the squad who were celebrating their own achievements; Melissa had successfully protected Zeri from harm all throughout the entire mission, everything else came second. Lotte was going to get her first major scoop, after witnessing an amazing victory for class G, despite the enormous amount of odds and obstacles they had to face. Anisette got to see, first hand, that all of her sisters stories about Welkin Gunther weren't exaggerated, no matter how impossible they seemed in the past. He really was all that he was rumoured to be, and more. Alexis learned so much from Welkin, not just how to fight and lead, but how to be compassionate, patient, brilliant, brave and enduring in such difficult times, even in war times.

* * *

Not long after, the others joined Avan as he rushed back to Magari's side. They arrived to find Zeri tending to Mischlitt, Rene was taking care of Magari and Cosette was off to the side with Welkin, tending to the wound on the back of his head.

Avan walked up to Magari and gave a signature chuckle, "We're all so glad that you're safe, Magari! You really had us worried there for a moment or two!"

"I'm sorry… for all the trouble I caused…" Magari said as she bowed her head.

Zeri shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Magari. You know that if you're ever in trouble, we'll always come and help you out. That includes if you want to ask any of us to accompany you on one of your outings next time."

Avan nodded, "Feel free to ask me! I'm always up for an outing away from the academy! Ha-ha!"

Zeri smiled, "And I!"

Cosette joined in, "I as well!"

"Aye! Absolutely! Anytime!" The others shouted.

Magari smiled brightly, "Thank you… all of you…" then she asked, "I'm curious… How in the world did you ever manage to find me? Even I had no clue as to where I was in this huge forest!"

Before anyone could answer, a bird chirped loudly from the treetops. Everyone looked up and saw a small brown bird circling over head.

"Jarde!" Magari said happily. He then flew down and landed perfectly on Magari's finger just as she held it out. He then chirped and cooed happily as he looked at Magari. She brought her hand close to her face and he nuzzled her cheek and forehead as she giggled.

Cosette was a little bit shocked, "Avan! How did he-"

"Jarde's always been a quick healer!" Avan said with a chuckle, "Nothing keeps this guy down… Well, not for long anyhow!"

"You can thank Jarde! He brought something back to the academy, something that helped Rene know immediately that you were in trouble." Zeri added happily.

"Really?" Magari asked in bewilderment.

Cosette nodded and reached to her rear pouch and dug around for something as she walked towards Magari. "He brought us… this!" Cosette said as she showed Magari her beloved hair braid with the Darcsen pattern sown onto it.

"Oh… thank you! I feared that I had lost this forever!"

Avan chuckled, "Nope, Jarde made sure you'd get it back!"

Zeri grinned and shook his head, "He's a far smarter bird than I ever dared to believe."

Magari then tickled Jarde's belly with her finger, "Thank you, Jarde! I'm going to feed you till your big and fat for this!"

Avan scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yeah… I still need him to be able to fly me messages back and forth to my mom, you know."

Welkin approached the group as they all laughed out loud at Avan's comment, "It's so good to see you safe and sound, Magari." said Welkin with a smile.

"Welkin contributed to much of our victory. You should have seen all that he did to get us here!" Avan said.

Welkin held up a hand, "You'll hear it all later, I promise. But for now, let's return to the academy and tell the others the good news and plan our defence for the upcoming Rebel advancement across our border." said Welkin, he then bent down next to Magari, "Can you walk?"

"I think so… But I'm a little weak, both from the fighting and not being fed during my time in captivity… So maybe I should-". Before she could finish her sentence, Welkin scooped her up and cradled her in his arms as he smiled down at her.

"You just rest. I'll carry you back, if you don't mind." Welkin said to both Magari and Rene. Rene smiled and nodded, Magari blushed brightly and then nodded as well.

Welkin then led the group, as they walked Magari tugged on his jacket. "Welkin… I… have something I want to show you…" she said as she dug into her right pouch and retrieved a notebook and showed it to him. "I collected so much information on the research assignment that you gave me, Welkin. I hope you'll… be pleased with what I found. I wanted… so very much to… make you proud of me…'

Welkin smiled, "I am, Magari. More than you will ever know." said Welkin, "I heard how you acted so bravely to protect me when I was knocked unconscious…"

"Of course… I care about you… so very much, Welkin." Magari said nervously and while blushing.

Welkin bent his head down and tapped his forehead softly against Magari's, an affectionate gesture which he used to do with his Darcsen step-sister Isara. "I feel the same way…"

Magari swallowed hard, then held onto Welkin's jacket as she looked up at him, "I… was wondering, Welkin. Would it be alright… if I came over more often than our twice weekly tutoring sessions?" she asked while looking off to the side. She then looked up at him with rosy red cheeks, "And not just for lessons… But to talk, visit and do other things with both you and Alicia…"

Welkin blinked away some tears that were welling up in his eyes, "I would like that… I truly would, Magari."

"Thank you… Welkin…" Magari said tiredly. She then nuzzled her head against his warm chest and closed her eyes, utterly at peace and able to fall asleep in his strong, caring arms.

Welkin looked down at Magari and was overcome with emotion as tears fell from his eyes. He had done it, he had done what he couldn't do for his little sister over two years ago… He had saved Magari from suffering the same fate and losing someone just as precious to him.

Then, something compelled him to look up towards a nearby hill. He turned and looked up, and standing there was his sister, Isara Gunther. She hadn't aged a day or changed the slightest in appearance since her death at age sixteen. She was still dressed in her militia uniform and Darcsen shawl, the last outfit Welkin last saw her with when she was still alive.

As she silently stood on the hilltop, looking down at Welkin, she was slightly transparent in the morning light and seemingly glowing. Finally, she cupped her hands together in front of her chest, smiled brightly and nodded her head. Though she didn't say a word, Welkin knew that she was also happy that her big brother was able to gain some inner peace with himself after finally being able to save someone he cared for as deeply as her. She then turned and began to slowly fade away with each step she took, until she disappeared in a beautiful sea of glitter and sparkles just as the sunlight broke through a layer of morning clouds.

**THE END**


	7. Chloe Blixen: A Painters Plight

**_Chloe Blixen_: A Painters Plight**

The sounds of gunfire and battle that once echoed across the mountains had long since stopped, but the smell of gunpowder, burning smoke and blood and death still lingered in the cold mountain air. These were all from a Darcsen purge that had been commenced on the mountain village of Highever. A small Darcsen settlement high up in the Diebal mountain region of Gallia. Sadly, much of the village and nearly half of the Darcsen residents had been wiped out in this purge.

A fierce snowstorm had slowed Class G's progress up the mountain when they were summoned to stop the attack. Their delay had cost the village and the villagers dearly. The sound of mourning and grief now echoed across the mountains as the villagers cried and wailed in despair after they had lost so much.

As some of the Class G cadets looked on sadly, Chloe had her eyes closed and was uncomfortably adjusting her dark glasses multiple times. She had heard these same sounds countless times from the last war, when she was forced by the regular army to paint pictures of such destruction, to be used as propaganda to sow hatred against the Imperials and to sell war bonds. Wanting nothing more than to get out of there, Chloe slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder and began to back away from the group.

"Well, battles over." Chloe said nonchalantly, "Shall we head back soon? I'm getting kind of cold out here."

Nearby, Cosette was helping an elderly woman towards the medical tent, but she had heard Chloe's seemingly uncaring attitude about the horrible atrocities that had been committed against these poor people.

She left the woman's side and stomped towards Chloe, who simply held her ground, "What is wrong with you?" Cosette demanded, "Look at these poor people! Look at what has been done to them! I've never understood why you're so cold and callus all the time, but here, it's unacceptable!"

Chloe just shrugged as she pushed her glasses up and down a few times, "This is war. This is what happens in war." Chloe simply stated, "Get used to it, or quit the academy. Otherwise, you'll become too emotionally involved in other peoples plights and eventually break down… You seem pretty close to that point already."

Cosette looked down at the ground and shook her head with her mouth agape at Chloe's cold heartedness. "You're unbelievable…"

"Whatever." Chloe retorted, "I'm gonna jet. Call me when we're ready to leave." Chloe then turned and began to walk away from Cosette and headed for the outskirts of the village.

Cosette was still shaking her head with her eyes wide and mouth agape. Behind her, she heard the soft snow crunching as someone was approaching, followed by a female voice saying, "What a bitch…"

Chloe looked back and saw Sofia glaring at Chloe's back as she watched her walk away.

"Perhaps… or perhaps it's something else."

Sofia scoffed, "Tsk… like what? Even I know to leave that kind of attitude back at the academy."

"I don't know… It's just that… never mind. We need to help these people, all else comes second."

Cosette then turned back to the elderly woman and continued to lead her by the arm towards the nearby medical station.

* * *

A short while later, Chloe sat down on a large rock, which overlooked the mountain valley below and turned her back to the burning village. Thankfully, from this position, the sounds of loss and despair couldn't be heard quite so clearly. The horrible smells were being blown away by the cold wind that whipped across Chloe's face. Chloe took her dark glasses off and rubbed her eyes as she lowered her head. Then, flashes of burned cities, piles of Gallian civilian corpses, destroyed tanks and dead Imperial and Gallian soldiers appeared before her eyes. The sounds of hundreds of people crying, screaming and wailing all at once, rang deep within her ears. She quickly gave her head a shake and the images disappeared and the sound of the blowing wind returned.

"Even after all this time…" Chloe said in frustration as she put her glasses back on. She then rested her chin in her hand as she grumbled. She had hoped when the last war had ended, she'd forget all those images and sounds. Sadly, it wasn't so.

Suddenly, her keen eyes detected some movement nearby. She quickly placed her hand against her sidearm pouch and turned her head. A small head wrapped in a Darcsen patterned hood then ducked back behind a nearby rock.

Chloe slowly removed her hand from her sidearm pouch and grumbled. It wasn't a Rebel, but it was the next worst thing, a child. Chloe didn't like children. They were loud, they were annoying and they always distracted her while she was painting, sometimes they even stole some of her brushes or paints when she wasn't looking.

"No use hiding. I already saw you." Chloe called out.

Slowly, the young Darcsen child began to stand and show herself. She had a backpack strapped onto her back, and wore a simple green dress, a pair of brown furry boots and a Darcsen cloak with the hood up. Her long dark blue bangs stuck out from the sides of her hood and swayed in the wind as she silently look at Chloe. Also, she was hugging a large book or notepad against her chest. She made her way around the rock and cautiously approached Chloe.

As she got closer, Chloe held her forehead and rubbed it. She was tired and definitely not in the mood to deal with a child. "Beat it, kid. I've got a headache and don't have the time or the patience to-"

However, once she looked up, she saw the small child holding what turned out to be a sketchbook to her. It was opened up and there was pretty shocking picture drawn onto the large white page. Chloe snatched the book away from the child and looked at it.

The picture was of herself, or rather just the top half of her body which was sticking out of the window of one of the two storey buildings in the village. She had her sniper rifle up to her shoulder and was looking through the scope. On the ground below, there was a dead Rebel with a lance, and a Rebel shock trooper with a fresh bullet hole pinged into his helmet. The path of the bullet was visibly drawn and led all the way back to the barrel of Chloe's sniper rifle.

Chloe looked back up at the child, shocked by what she had drawn. The child on the other hand had her hands behind her back and looked as if she were waiting for Chloe's response or approval of her drawing.

Chloe then reached out and took the child by the shoulder and pulled her forward. With her other hand, she took off her glasses and looked into the child's eyes, "What is this? Why would you draw something as horrible and ghastly such as this at your age?" Chloe demanded. Though the child didn't answer, her dark-blue eyes simply looked off to the side, "You're a kid! Kids don't draw things like this!"

The child moaned in discomfort, and Chloe didn't notice that she was actually squeezing the child's shoulder, and continued to tighten as she went on, "Well? Aren't you going to answer me?"

The sound of a picture being snapped made Chloe turn her head, "Still hate children, Chloe?" a girl holding a camera up to her face asked, "Nice to see that some things never change."

Chloe released her grip from the Darcsen child and groaned, "Not you again…"

The girl lowered the camera and chuckled, "Oh, still got that chip on your shoulder, huh Chloe." She was about Chloe's age, had a blue baseball cap on her head, with a long brown ponytail sticking out of the back of the fastener. Strapped around her neck were two cameras, on with a long lens, one without. She wore a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with a black vest. There were over half a dozen pockets, pouches and straps that held tubes on her vest. Theses were filled with rolls of film, different sized lenses, a flash bulb and other photographers supplies and tools.

"What do you want, Cassandra?" Chloe asked as she stood up from her seating position and slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder.

"Oh, nothing really." Cassandra said as she began to follow Chloe back to the village, the small Darcsen child trailed behind them. "I just heard a rumour that Chloe Blixen-Gallia's famous war painter-had taken up a fighting position amongst the Lanseal academy forces. And well… I just had to see this for myself."

Chloe then stopped walking and held a hand to her forehead as she grumbled. Close by, the small Darcsen girl ran to some nearby steps, took off her backpack and opened it up. Inside were numerous pencils, pencil crayons, markers, crayons, rulers and other artists supplies. She then took out some black pencils and flipped to a new sheet of paper in her large notebook. She then began to sketch something at a pretty impressive speed.

"Hey! You!" Chloe started, But Cassandra raised her hand in front of Chloe's face.

"Oh, leave her alone, Chloe." Cassandra said with a chuckle, "Try to pay attention to your old friend here."

Chloe turned back to Cassandra, "Fine. But let me ask you something. Did you take my picture earlier?"

Cassandra grinned and held her hands behind her back in an innocent manner, "Maybe…"

"Why?"

Cassandra held up her camera and tapped it with her finger, "Oh you know the saying… 'A picture is worth a thousand words.' Or in this case, a thousand ducats, Hehe." Cassandra laughed, "And I think an artist turned soldier is a wonderful moment to capture on film."

"I don't believe I gave you any sort of permission to take my photo in the first place, Cassandra!" Chloe said as she pressed her finger into Cassandra's chest.

Cassandra held up her hands and smiled while saying, "Oh, don't worry, Chloe. I don't think the picture's going to turn out anyway. It was too windy, too snowy where we were. Either way, I thought that we were friends. so I just assumed that you'd be alright with it."

Chloe groaned, "Ugh… What are you doing here anyway?"

"What can I say, another war, another chance to make some money taking photographs. And you know me, I love my money!"

"You're still working with the propaganda department of the army!" Chloe asked in bewilderment, "Unbelievable."

"Well, sort of… I'm freelance now. I simply sell to whoever pays the most. Whether it be the Army, the local newspaper, magazines, doesn't matter to me." Cassandra explained.

"You were right… some things never change, Cassandra."

"Listen, a picture such as you in uniform is going to be worth a lot. There are a lot of people who still remember you for the amazing artist you used to be. I'll even split the payment with you, fifty-fifty, for an old friend."

"Friends don't extort each other."

"Now, now… I never said anything about extortion, Chloe Blixen." Cassandra laughed.

"Oh, but I know you, Cassandra. You'll do whatever it takes to get your money. I still haven't forgotten how you used to snap pictures of crying children who'd just lost their parents, soldiers mourning their friends and everything else that you knew would sell the highest."

Cassandra walked up to Chloe with her hands on her hips, "Don't get self righteous with me, Chloe Blixen. You painted portraits of the same thing, right beside me if I remember correctly."

Just then, Avan came running towards the two arguing girls, "Yo! Chloe! We're almost finished here and have orders to return back to the academy. Be ready to move out within the next half hour, got it?"

"Yeah. Sure." Chloe said, she then shifted uncomfortably as Avan remained and looked over at Cassandra.

"Who's your friend?" Avan asked with a grin.

"She's-"

"I'm Cassandra Lopez. Pleased to make your acquaintance, mister…?"

"Oh, Avan Hardin's the name! Don't forget it!"

Cassandra let out a delighted squeal, "Oh, I've heard all about you. The chair of Class G, right? Please, sir, you must allow me to take your picture!" Cassandra asked as she raised her camera up to her eye.

Avan released another signature chuckle, "Sure, anytime!" He then held his hand against his hips and pumped out his chest in a 'super hero' pose. Chloe rolled her eyes in disgust, but then Avan asked, "What about Chloe? Do you want her in the shot too?"

Cassandra rubbed her chin, then a gleam sparkled in her eye as she looked over at her old friend. Right away, Chloe knew all that Cassandra was thinking about was money and how much a picture of her and the Class chair would fetch.

Chloe quickly sidestepped away, "No. You go ahead."

A disappointed frown appeared on Cassandra's face, so obvious that Avan took notice. "Oh, don't be camera shy, Chloe. Come on, it'll be fun!" Avan said as he reached over and put his arm around Chloe and tried to pull her up next to him.

"I said NO!" Chloe exclaimed, and she jabbed her elbow into Avans side and backed away.

Cassandra lowered her camera and laughed, "Same old, Chloe. She never did like being on the other end of a camera lens or a painting done by someone other than herself."

Avan rubbed his side, "Oh? You two must be pretty good friends if you know her that well."

"Indeed," said Cassandra, "We were paired up together in the last war, in the propaganda department. I'd snap my photos, she'd paint her paintings. Sometimes I'd even take photos and she'd enlarge them and add so much more colour and detail than a regular black and white photo could ever show!"

"Oh… I see… I'm sorry to hear that," said Avan downheartedly.

"Hmm? Hear what?" Cassandra asked as she tilted her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chloe tugging at the collar of her uniform shirt.

"It must have been hard… being forced by the army to show the harsh realities of war to people all over Gallia through film, photo and paintings like Chloe had to endure… poor girl." said Avan.

While Avan had his head hung low, Cassandra shifted her eyes over to Chloe who was rubbing the back of her neck while looking away. "Yeah… something like that…" Cassandra said with a sly smile.

Just then, "Hey! Avan! We need you over here!" Zeri called out from the nearby village center.

"Aw, shucks, just when I got to meet such a pretty girl…" Avan said softy.

"There's always next time, tiger!" Cassandra said as she winked at Avan.

"Hahaha! Yeah, there is!" Avan said, he then turned to Chloe, "Well, best get ready, Chloe. We'll be on the move soon." He then turned back to Cassandra, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Cassandra!"

Cassandra bowed her head slightly and held onto the brow of her cap, "The pleasure was all mine, Avan."

Avan then jogged back to Zeri and left the two 'friends' to their conversation.

"So… care to explain?" Cassandra asked with a raised eyebrow.

"About what?" Chloe asked as she fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You lied to the boy, or rather, your own class leader, didn't you?" Cassandra asked with a smile.

"NO!" Chloe exclaimed, "It's not like that… not really…"

Cassandra scratch the tip of her chin and looked as if she were trying to recall something, "Hmmm… seems to me that I remember you signing up out of your own free will. And I should know, I was in the propaganda department office the same day, signing up as well. We got paired up that same day, and were both eager to start!"

"But I had no idea what I was signing up for!" Chloe shot back, "I didn't know that they were going to take us to the goriest, bloodiest, most war torn towns and cities during the war!

Cassandra just shrugged, "I don't seem to recall you turning down any of the pay checks that you got for all your paintings."

"I had family to take care of! What else was I supposed to do?" Chloe retorted, "And for the record; I was one hundred percent honest when I told Avan that I wanted out of all that horrible stuff, and that I was forced to continue despite my protests."

"Yeah, well… you did sign a one year contract with the army. There's no getting out of that."

"Ok, so maybe I wasn't totally honest… But I did want out, unlike you, Cassandra!"

"Hey! I did exactly what I signed up for, and I never once whined or complained! And unlike you, I have no regrets about it, not one bit."

Chloe just shook her head, "Just go… I don't wanna talk to you anymore."

"Fine." Cassandra said, "But… about that picture?"

"Why should I?"

Cassandra smiled slyly, "Well… I wonder what the others in your class, along with your leader would think if I told them how you severely falsified your claim of how you were treated? You got yourself into it and the army only enforced the contract when you tried to leave!"

"You would do that… to an old friend?" Chloe asked

"Perhaps… But I could be persuaded not to…"

Chloe thought hard for a few moments, then sighed in defeat, "Fine… I'll let you take the picture."

"Wonderful!" Cassandra squealed happily as she raised her large camera up to her eye and turned to focus wheel. "Now, strike a pose!"

Chloe held up her sniper rifle and held one pose, then another and another as Cassandra snapped away and Chloe changed positions with each take.

"Excellent! I'm willing to bet that all the pictures of this destroyed village will pale in comparison to a single photo of Chloe Blixen as a soldier of Gallia!" Cassandra said as she lowered her camera, then her facial expression changed from overly ecstatic to a little more serious, "Tell you what, I'll split the profits with you, thirty/seventy. It's the least that I can do for an old friend."

"No."

"Oh come on, don't be like that, Chloe." said Cassandra with a frown, "You're mother is still sick, right?"

Chloe was looking down at the snowy ground with her hands on her hips, she then nodded her head.

"I see… forty/sixty, then. I can afford it."

"So long as we keep this to ourselves, Cassandra. I've said far too much to the others now to take it all back."

"You have my word, old friend. I'll wire the money to you once I get these developed" said Cassandra as she patted Chloe on the shoulder. "See you around." Cassandra then headed back to the village to continue taking photos for the propaganda efforts.

Chloe rubbed her forehead and grumbled in frustration, seeing Cassandra again had only made her headache that much worse. When she lowered her hand and looked down, she saw the small Darcsen girl holding the sketchbook out to her once more. Chloe rolled her eyes, but took the book and looked at the newly drawn picture. It was of Chloe once again, with her finger pressed against Cassandra's chest and her holding her hands up. But this time, Cassandra had black horns sticking out of her blue cap, a pair of black bat-like wings and a red tail. Chloe had a yellow halo over her head and a pair of white angelic wings on her back.

"Hmph, I must say… you certainly captured Cassandra's personality quite well here," Chloe complimented with a smile. Then she realized something that made her eyes widen in horror, "Oh man… I forgot that you were here the whole time! That means you heard our entire conversation!"

Chloe then dropped the sketchbook onto the snowy ground, knelt down on one knee and took the child by the shoulders. "Listen, you mustn't tell anyone about what you just heard. I don't want the others of my squad to find out about this!" Chloe pleaded, "Promise me that you won't say a word about this to anyone!"

"I don't know what's going on here… But I can assure you, she won't tell anyone, because she doesn't speak." said an elderly female voice.

Chloe looked over and saw an old Darcsen woman whose dark-blue hair was fading to grey. She was wearing a similar dress to the small child's and had a large Darcsen shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

"What?" Chloe asked in surprise, "Are telling me that this child can't talk?"

The woman shook her head slowly, "No. I didn't say that," she replied, "I simply said that she doesn't speak. Not a single since her parents were killed in a Darcsen hunt long ago."

"Oh… I see."

"I take care of her now. So I guess you could say that I'm her grandmother, though I'm not part of her real family. And I don't know what you did, but this is the first time I've ever seen her take a liking to someone else and follow them around. She's always so shy and reserved, that one."

"Oh, well… I didn't do anything really. She just came up to me and showed me a picture that she drew."

"Yes, that child of mine… She draws what she sees. It's also how she communicates to me and others. Just draws what she wants, or what she needs and shows it to us."

The Darcsen child quickly picked up her sketchbook from off the ground, then ran over to her grandmother and showed her the newly drawn art she had created. Starting off with the picture of Chloe sniping off rebels, then the picture of her and Cassandra arguing.

"As a fellow artist, do you think that she has potential?" the grandmother asked. "I've been thinking of sending her off to Randgriz to take an art class after the wars over. She'd do quite well, don't you think?"

Chloe crossed her arms, "What makes you think I'm an artist?"

"I've seen your work, Chloe Blixen. You portrayed the horrible atrocities committed against the Darcsen people during the last war quite well," The grandmother complimented. "Your best work was the burning of the Darcsen concentration camps at Fouzen…"

Chloe grimaced, then started to become angry, "You. Have. NO. Idea what I had to do to paint something as horrible as that!" Chloe growled, "I was forced to paint on a canvas that was just a few feet from the burned down hovels and charred bodies! I can still smell the burnt flesh… the heavy smoke… and all the other things that you'll never be able to experience when you look at my so called 'Art'."

"It needed to be shown… People needed to see what horrors our people had to face. And you, Chloe, were able to do just that."

Chloe placed her palm against her face and groaned, she then looked back up at the small Darcsen child standing next to her grandmother, she was still clutching her sketchbook tightly to her chest.

"Kid, you do not want to become like me, trust me on that," Chloe advised, "You have the freedom, you have the choice to draw whatever you want! I didn't! I was forced to!

And what you drew earlier, the picture of me killing rebels… that's not the kind of stuff that any artist, no matter what their age, should paint or draw.

So listen to me very carefully, even if I inspire you, even if I made you want to draw in the first place, do not start down the path I had to take and draw horrible pictures like this ever again! Got it!"

The small child's lips quivered, tears were forming in her eyes. She then dropped her sketchbook, turned and ran away.

"Chloe! Come back! Chloe!" the grandmother cried.

"Chloe!" Chloe gasped in surprise, "That's her name?"

The grandmother turned back to Chloe, "It's the name that she chose to go by when I took her in. When I asked her what her name was she didn't answer. All she did was write **C-H-L-O-E**on a piece of paper. I knew that that wasn't her real name, But I accepted it and that's what I've been calling her ever since.

That's how much she loved and adored you. That's how much she wanted to be like you… but perhaps she was wrong to do so…"

Chloe ran a hand through her hair, "I… I…"

Just then, "Hey! Chloe! Time to go!" Avan shouted out from the road leading down the mountain where the trucks and jeeps were waiting.

Chloe turned and shouted "Yeah, I'm coming!" But when she turned back, the other Chloe's grandmother was already walking away from her at a quick pace. Clearly, she was done talking to her and off to try and locate her small child.

Chloe bit her bottom lip, now regretting lashing out at that small child. She couldn't imagine how she'd feel if her favourite artist who inspired her as a child had done the same thing… probably never have started painting at all.

She looked down and saw the child's sketchbook on the snowy ground, already starting to be covered up by the blowing snow as another storm was starting to enter the region. She knelt down and picked it up and brushed off the fresh snow. At the top of the sketchbook, written in bright reddish/orange letters was the name '**_Chloe_**'. Chloe twirled some of her own hair between her finger tips, slightly touched to see that the child had gone as far as to write her name in the same color crayon as her hair.

Chloe felt horrible inside, and knew that she had to try to apologize before leaving, "Wait, Avan! I'll be right back!" She then ran towards the village and tried to locate either the grandmother or 'Chloe' and set things right. It didn't take long to find the grandmother sitting on the steps of her small house, and as Chloe got closer, she could hear a child crying and wailing from an open window of the house.

Chloe swallowed hard and approached the grandmother, when she was close enough, she held the sketchbook out to her, "Your granddaughter… Chloe… dropped this. I just wanted to return it."

The grandmother sighed and took the sketchbook from Chloe, then opened to the first page and handed it back to her. "This… was the first picture that she ever drew, and it was not long after she came to live with me."

Chloe looked down at it and saw a Darcsen man and woman… lying in a pool of blood that stained the snowy ground a deep red color. In the background were burning houses, along with Imperial tanks and soldiers firing at other Darcsen citizens or burning the houses with torches held in their hands.

A small child was next to the deceased man and woman, and was on her knees. Her face was buried in a bloody Darcsen cloak that she used to dry her tears with. Chloe gasped as she realized that it was the same one that she had first seen the child with… it must have belong to her parents.

"That's how I know what happened to her parents. She drew the whole horrible experience in her sketchbook, probably as a way of getting it out of her mind and onto paper."

Chloe handed the sketchbook back, "I'm so sorry…"

"Just leave…" The grandmother pleaded, "And you can rest easy, I don't think she'll aspire to become like you any longer… if she ever recovers from this heartbreak."

"Alright… I'm going." Chloe said sadly, but after walking only a few steps, she turned once more, "Tell Chloe that I truly am sorry… and to keep drawing if that's what makes her happy."

The grandmother simply nodded, then stood up and went back into her house and shut the door behind her.

Chloe then returned to the awaiting jeeps and trucks and climbed into the back of one of the transport trucks at the back of the convoy. Just arriving now were three medical trucks filled with relief supplies and medics. A small group of regular army soldiers were escorting them.

Once Chloe and the others were in the trucks, the entire convoy then started to drive back down the mountain, destined for Lanseal academy.

* * *

Not long into the drive, the snow storm was becoming a lot worse, causing the jeeps and trucks to have to slow their progress down as the road was becoming less visible with each passing minute. Things were only made worse when five minutes later, a frantic and garbled distress call was received over the radio of the lead jeep, which held Avan, Cosette and Zeri.

"This is- Higheve- anyone out there! Please- under heavy rebe- ttack- No warning! Army has been overwhelm- Hurry! Can't last much-" Then the radio turned to static immediately after a loud explosion was heard in the background.

Cosette grabbed Avan by the shoulder, "The Rebels! They're back!"

Zeri held a hand to his forehead in disbelief, "No way! How can they have overwhelmed our relief forces so quickly!"

"No idea. But we have to go back and help them! Step on it, Zeri!" Avan urged.

Zeri tried to shift into reverse and get the jeep turned around, but the wheels simply spun out. Even after he shifted into drive and tried to go forward, the wheels continued to spin in the fresh, heavy snow. The only reason they didn't get stuck sooner was because of the momentum they had going down hill, but once that was stopped, getting going again was going to be tough with more and more snow piling up from the blowing snowstorm that was now hitting with full force.

Meanwhile, Avan and Cosette jumped out of the jeep and each of them ran back to the transport trucks. Cosette took one truck, Avan ran to the other and opened the flaps to the back.

"Guys! The Rebels are back and attacking Highever! We couldn't tell much from the distress call, but it appears that the relief forces that took over for us were quickly overwhelmed." Avan shouted, he then opened the tailgate, "Come on! We have to get these vehicles moving! Get the snow out from under the wheels!"

The cadets all jumped out and were hurriedly trying to dig the snow out from around the wheels with shovels or their bare hands. Others were at the back trying to push the huge vehicles to get them moving.

All the while, Chloe's anxiety was building up. She feared for the safety of the small Darcsen child from earlier, as well as her grandmother. She was even worried about Cassandra, who was also still back at the village. Even for as much of a bitch as Cassandra was… she was still Chloe's friend.

Chloe slammed her fist against the tailgate of the transport truck and cursed out loud, then backed away, "Forget the trucks! We should head back on foot!"

"All of our ammo and supplies are in the trucks, Chloe." Zeri pointed out, "We can't risk going back without them!"

"I would have thought that someone like you would be the first to want to head back!" Chloe shot back.

"I know the situation. But I also know about the dangers of charging headlong into battle so recklessly and ill supplied."

"Forget this, I'm heading back! With or without the rest of you!" Chloe then flipped her hood up and pulled her red scarf up over her face and started to trudge back through the snow towards the village as fast as she could.

"Wait up! We'll come with you!" Avan shouted. He then turned back to Zeri and grabbed him by the shoulder. "I'll take half the class and head back with Chloe. Take charge of the rest of the class and get these trucks back there as quick as you can!"

"If we can't get these trucks moving again, then you run the risk of running out of ammo and supplies mid-battle and being overwhelmed or cut off from the rest of us!"

Avan looked back at Chloe's running form, "I'm willing to take that risk if Chloe is!" Avan said with a smile. He then shook Zeri by the shoulder, "I'm counting on you to make it back to us in time before we run dry though, Zeri."

Avan then rounded up a group of loyal volunteers and they all started to head back towards the village on foot, with only as much supplies and ammo as they could fit into their pouches and packs. They prayed that it would be enough to hold out until Zeri and the others got back… or rather, if they got back.

* * *

Back at the village a few minutes later, Cassandra trying to peer around the corner of a burning building and snap pictures of the massacre that was taking place. The whole place was in chaos. What was left of the regular army were trying to get the remaining villagers to the relatively safe position of the large two storey warehouse a short distance behind her.

Despite the danger, Cassandra continued to snap away, even as bullets pelted the side of the wooden house just a few feet from her head and body. Up ahead, a regular soldier was running towards her while carrying a Darcsen child in his arms. Cassandra knew that this would be an excellent photo, if she could get it just right with the burning buildings in the background, and the smoking craters from the mortar blasts. She then began to sidestep, all while looking through the view finder of her camera, trying to position herself just right, completely oblivious to the fact that she was now out in the open and completely exposed. But her love of money completely took over her self-preservation instincts.

Closer… just a little closer… Cassandra thought as she almost had the running soldier and child in perfect focus.

Just then, "Get down you fool!" a female voice screamed from behind her. Cassandra was then tackled from behind and landed face first in the snow, her camera rolled across the ground and lay a few feet away now. A massive gust of wind then blew overhead, followed by a loud explosion.

Cassandra looked up and saw the regular soldier and Darcsen child run past her, and she cursed. She then looked back and saw Chloe with her arms still wrapped around her waist. The Avan boy and a blonde haired female flanked her on either side and were firing at the rebels in the distance.

"What did you do that for?" Cassandra demanded angrily, "I almost had the shot of a lifetime!"

"Just shut up, and look over there!" Chloe ordered while looking back. Cassandra looked back as well and saw a house which had just been destroyed by a lance round and was now engulfed in flames. That was when she realized that had Chloe not tackled her, she'd probably have been blown up by the round herself.

"Chloe… I…" Cassandra started.

"Sorry to interrupt, girls! But we better find some cover!" said Avan as he grabbed one of Cassandra's arms, Cosette grabbed the other and they hauled her to her feet.

"Wait! My camera! Just let me-" Cassandra then looked back and saw it get struck by a bullet and it shattered into a dozen pieces, "Oh… Crap!"

Chloe then pushed Cassandra against wall of the house they had just taken cover behind, "This was supposed to be a secured area! What happened?" she screeched as she shook her by the shoulder.

Cassandra shook her head, "Hard to say, Chloe. It all just happened so fast… and it was unlike anything that either of us has seen in the last war…" said Cassandra as she started to remember what happened.

* * *

_**Cassandra sat on the steps of the villages large warehouse. She rested her chin in her hand and sighed long and loud. She knew that other than the photo of Chloe that she snapped earlier, she wasn't going to make a lot of money on the post-battle devastation of the village that she capture on film. Those didn't pay as well as photos taken during the heat of battle. But she always remained on the outskirts of a battle and always arrived afterward. How else could she spend her money if she were injured or killed during the fighting?**_

_**It was cold, it was getting late and she couldn't stand the sounds of the villager crying or suffering in pain for much longer, so she decided to leave. She started to make her way towards her white jeep when suddenly, she heard a loud shrieking sound overhead.**_

_**"Incoming!" a regular female soldiers screamed.**_

_**Cassandra looked up and saw a blue mortar round flying towards the village, trailing a glowing blue tail. It then slammed into one of the large transport trucks and blew it sky high. One, two, three, then even more blue and shrieking mortar rounds then began to rain down upon the village and explode all over the place, almost like a comet or meteor shower.**_

_**"Get the villagers to safety- AAHH!" a regular soldier cried as he was engulfed in a mortar explosion a short distance away. Cassandra hit the ground and covered her head with her hands as the mortars continued to pound away at the village and destroy even more houses, trucks and people and soldiers.**_

_**Moments later, all the explosions ceased. This was replaced by lots of moaning and painful groaning and cries for help from villagers and soldiers alike. As Cassandra was slowly pushing herself up from the snowy ground, a regular soldier ran up to her and attempted to help her up.**_

_**"What in the world was that?" Cassandra asked**_

_**"Rebel Ambush… it had to be," The soldier replied, "They'll most likely launch an assault either from the east or west! We have to be ready for-"**_

_**He was cut off by the sound of a lot of shouting and war cries… coming from the high snowy mountains to the north. Cassandra and the soldier looked up and saw one a terrifying sight. Rebels on skis, dozens of them, each with their weapons strapped to their backs. They lined the crest of the mountain in a long, neat row, their wooden skis hanging over the edge.**_

_**Suddenly, the leader in yellow at the front released a loud echoing roar, then started down the hill, carving and kicking up snow. Then, like an avalanche of human bodies and armour, all of the rebels began to descend from the mountain as they carved their way through the powder and were approaching the village at breakneck speed.**_

_**Cassandra and the soldier looked at the fast approaching rebels, then all around the village itself. There was no way any sort of defence could be mounted in time. The rebels would enter the village in less than a minute.**_

_**"Can you walk?" The soldier asked quickly.**_

_**"Yeah, I think so." Cassandra replied.**_

_**"We'll never be able to hold them, get yourself to the warehouse! It's the only place we'll be able to protect you and the other civilians!" He then departed to try and rally the other soldiers before the rebels entered the village.**_

_**But this was an ambush tactic that Cassandra had never seen or even heard of being performed in either wars of the past. Finding that her camera still worked, she took cover and got ready to snap shots of this new style of attack, and thought about all the glorious money that this would earn her!**_

* * *

Avan looked over at Cosette, "So... that force that we fought against earlier couldn't have been the main force…"

"Are you saying that they were up there the entire time? Just watching their comrades die?" asked Cosette in shock and horror.

"Seems that way… Then they waited for us to leave when we thought the battle was over, and a smaller, less armed force took over for us… Damn it!" Avan cursed as he slammed his palm against the ground.

Chloe reached forward and took Cassandra by the shoulder, "The Darcsen child, the one that was with us earlier, have you seen her? Is she alright?"

"What?" Cassandra asked, surprised at Chloe's sudden concern for a small child.

Chloe shook her even harder, "Try to remember! Is she safe?"

Cassandra shook her head, both at the fact that Chloe cared about someone other than herself and a Darcsen child at that. "I don't remember seeing her… But the regular soldiers were evacuating all of the civilians towards the warehouse, perhaps she's over there."

Chloe let go of Cassandra and stood up, "I'm going to go and check!" she announced and took off.

"Wait! We'll come with you!" Avan shouted, and he followed her, Cosette as well. Cassandra didn't want to be alone, so she decided to follow them and get herself to safety in the process.

* * *

Thankfully, most of the fighting was taking place in the parts of the village closest to the mountains. The warehouse was well secured with multiple snipers on the rooftops taking care of any approaching threats and letting allies and civilians through. But even this secure location wouldn't be for long if reinforcements didn't arrive soon.

Chloe, Avan, Cosette and Cassandra then entered the large warehouse. Soldiers were posted at both entrances, and there were many Darcsens, young and old, all huddled together in groups in the first and second floors. Chloe's eyes scanned the interior, but she couldn't see the other 'Chloe' anywhere. Before she could ask, Avan stepped forward for her.

"We're looking for a small Darcsen child who goes by the name of Chloe! Is she in here?" Avan shouted.

Many heads turned and looked at their neighbours, and all of them shook their heads. There were a small group of children huddled together in the back, so Chloe made her way over to them, Avan and Cosette followed. All the while, Cassandra was scratching the back of her head, not sure what to make of Chloe's renewed attitude.

Chloe then bent down in front of the ten small children, "I'm looking for Chloe, a little Darcsen girl who likes to draw. Have you seen her?"

"No, Miss…" a young Darcsen girl responded, "Her house is on the other side of the village… where all the bad men came from…"

"She's probably already…" a young Darcsen boy said as he looked off to the side, not wanting to finish his sentence.

Chloe nodded, "I see, thank you!" She then got up and was about to leave.

"Wait!" another Darcsen boy called out, "Chloe never plays with us, or answers to anyone else's call…"

The Darcsen girl nodded, "Even if you go and call for her, she'll stay hidden… unless she trusts you."

"Fine!" Chloe responded, and she continued towards the exit. But Avan ran in front of her and stopped her.

"You can't go out there, Chloe! It's too dangerous!" Avan warned, "Let's wait for the others before attempting any sort of rescue mission!"

Chloe grunted angrily, "I never asked for your help! This is one soldier going out to look for one child, so the risk is minimal!"

Avan continued to hold her back, "No! It isn't!" Avan shouted back, "You're our friend, Chloe! Whether you believe it or not! And I won't let you throw your life away so carelessly, so I'm coming with you."

"I didn't know you had it in you, Chloe…" Cassandra said with a smile and a shake of her head. "I've got to see more of this, so just give me a sidearm and I'll come along as well."

Avan quickly took out his sidearm pistol and handed it to Cassandra, but held onto it as she tried to take it, "Do you know how to use one of these?"

Cassandra shrugged, "I've covered wars before… You just point this end at whatever threatens you and pull the trigger, right?" Cassandra said as she pointed to the barrel.

"Oh uh… maybe you should-"

"It was a joke, boyo." said Cassandra with a wink, "Of course I know how to use one."

"Very well, you'll come with us." Avan said, and the three of them headed for the exits. But Cosette-who was tending to an injured soldier-jumped up and started towards them.

"Avan, wait! I want to-"

"No, Cosette! You're a medic, you need to stay and help any of the injured civilians and soldiers stationed here." Avan ordered, he then turned to the others, "The rest of you, take up a defensive formation and defend this warehouse! These people are depending on us!"

"Yes, sir!" everyone answered.

Chloe, Avan and Cassandra then set out to make it to the other side of the village, praying that they weren't too late to save the Darcsen child and her grandmother.

* * *

By now, most of the rebel hunters had moved on to other areas of the spread out village, and Chloe and the others were now arriving at the small hut that Chloe had visited earlier, when she tried to apologize.

The door was kicked in, which worried Chloe. Chloe entered with her pistol drawn and surveyed the interior. The lights were extinguish, and a back door was knocking against the frame repeatedly in the wind. But at the back of the hut, Chloe saw a pair of feet sticking out from behind a kitchen counter.

"No!" Chloe cried as she ran to the back of the house. She then discovered that it was the old woman, now lying in a pool of blood. She bent down and picked her up and cradled her in her arms. "Miss! Miss!"

The old ladies eyes fluttered open and she groaned in pain. Chloe looked down and saw three bullet holes in her body, all bleeding profusely. But she managed to look up at Chloe with weak eyes.

"Chloe… you… came back…" she said weakly.

Chloe nodded, "Where's your granddaughter? Please tell me that she hasn't been killed, has she?"

The old lady gasped and wheezed in pain, "N-no… she's… gone…" She then reached up and touched Chloe's cheek, "You must… listen to me… Chloe. My child… she… fears… the hunters…"

"The hunters?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"The child's parents were killed in a Darcsen hunt long ago…" Chloe replied as she looked back at Cassandra.

The old woman nodded, "She… ran away… to her safe place… when all of this started…" Her hand then pointed towards the back door, "There may still be time… Go… go now, Chloe… Save her before… ah… ahhhhhhh…." Her head then fell back and she died.

Chloe lowered her head, then lowered the old woman's body back to the ground, placing her hand against her forehead sympathetically for a moment before looking back up. She looked at the walls, then up to the second floor and soon discovered that the entire interior was covered with drawings of all kinds and that's when Chloe remembered something.

"The child draws all that she sees and all that she's experienced!" Chloe said to Avan and Cassandra, "We have to look for anything that may show us where she went!"

Chloe ran upstairs, Avan took the kitchen and Cassandra looked throughout the rest of the lower level. There were probably well over a hundred drawings spread all throughout the whole house. Avan shifted through the sheets in the kitchen, but only came across ones titled; Favourite foods, utensils, favourite drinks. Cassandra only found pictures of activities and things that one would do in the living room, such as; pictures of a radio, drawing book, a woman reading to a child and other things.

Upstairs, however, and after much sorting through numerous drawings, Chloe found one titled 'Sanctuary.' and was a drawing of an ice cave of sorts, under it showed a miniature map of the village they were in, with a marked trail leading to a cave entrance located up in the mountains to the north.

"I found it!" Chloe announced, "I know where to go!"

She then came bounding down the steps two at a time and ran through the back entrance, Avan and Cassandra followed close behind her. Chloe looked down at the drawing, then up a path leading up into the mountains, small holes that might have once been foot prints were rapidly being covered up by the blowing snow storm.

"Alright, I'm going to go look for her!" Chloe shouted over the blowing wind.

Avan grabbed her by the shoulder, "This is suicide, Chloe! You have no idea how far or high up this cave is! You could freeze to death before you ever find it!"

Chloe smacked Avans hand away, "She went up this pass! Alone! I've got to go and bring her back!"

"Chole! You can't-" Avan started.

"There are no rebels up this path, Avan." Chloe stated. She then pointed back towards the village, "The battle's out there! And your classmates need you to lead them. There's nothing more you can do for me here!"

Avan sighed, "Very well… Please try and make it back to us!"

"No promises, Avan…" Chloe replied with her back to him, "I will find that girl… no matter how long it takes, and no matter how far! But I will find her!"

More explosions and gunfire brought Avan's attention back to the village. "If you're not back by the time this battle's over, then I'm coming up there to look for you myself!" He then turned and ran back to the village to rejoin his classmates. Cassandra swallowed hard, then turned and followed Avan, while Chloe struggled up the mountain path on all fours as fast as she could. A few more minutes and the footprints would be completely covered up and impossible to track.

* * *

A few minutes later, Chloe was moving across a narrow mountain path with her back pressed against the rock wall, the wind whipped across her face and were it not for her dark glasses that provided some shielding from the blinding wind, she'd never find her way.

She then came upon a small cave entrance and ducked into it. It was quite spacious inside and had a large hole overhead that let in the cold blowing air from the snowstorm overhead. Chloe's breath was visible as she looked all around.

"Chloe! Chloe, where are you!" Chloe called out for the small Darcsen child while running through the cave. Inside there were even more drawings hanging on clothesline throughout the cave. At least she knew that she was in the right place. But there was no answer.

Chloe stopped to catch her breath and attempt to calm herself. Then she heard it, a scribbling sound, coming from an upper level of the cave. She looked up and saw a small cut out in the rock face, a rock and ice path leading up to it was nearby. Chloe quickly ascended the path and found the small child, Chloe, rocking herself back and forth while scribbling in her small sketchbook.

Chloe ran up to her and knelt down in front of her, "Chloe! Are you alright!" she asked, but the child didn't respond or even seen to notice her. It turned out that she was shading in large black letters that read; 'Mother', 'Father' and 'Save me'. She still wasn't even looking up at Chloe as she continued shading in the letters.

Chloe reached for the child, "Come on, kid. I'll get you out of-" But Chloe stopped when she tried to pry the black pencil crayon out of the child's hand and heard a crackling sound, like an icicle being broken off of a roof. She looked down at the child's hand and her flesh had turned to a blue color, as were her lips and cheeks. Frost bite was visible on her face and hands as well.

"This child is freezing!" Chloe said aloud. She then cupped the child's hands together and attempted to blow warm air into them and rub them at the same time.

Finally, the child seemed to notice Chloe for the first time and a weak smile began to spread across her face, though she never said a word. But by now, Chloe saw that the child was only dressed in her green dress and thin Darcsen cloak, and she no shoes at all. She must have bolted from her home wearing this and only this during the blizzard.

Chloe then reached back to open her pouch, she had brought along a metal hand warmer, along with matches and other winter survival gear in her pouch. But… she couldn't feel it attached to her belt. That was when she remembered that she took it off, because it was uncomfortable and left it in the transport truck. And Zeri's warning about going out unprepared came back to haunt her. Now she had no choice but to try and get this child back to the village and get her warmed up before it was too late.

"Hold on, kid." Chloe said as she took off her snipers poncho-like garment and hood. She then moved her hands towards the child's cloak and attempted to remove it. But the child's icy cold hand grabbed Chloe's.

"N-no…" she said softly, barely a whisper.

"Huh?" in surprise, the child had spoke!

"N-no… Moth-… moth-…" the child said while shivering violently, her teeth chattering as well. "Mothers…"

Chloe nodded, "Yes, I remember from your drawing… This belonged to your mother, right?"

The child nodded and smiled weakly, "Mother's… Cloak…"

Chloe then draped her heavy wool snipes poncho over the small child, gave the child her gloves, wrapped her red scarf around the child's feet, and finally put her green hair band over the child's ears. "We'll keep it on then. Perhaps it'll provide some measure of extra warmth." Chloe suggested, "Now let's get you back to the village!"

Chloe then cradled the small child in her arms and ducked back down under the low cave entrance, thankfully, the storm was beginning to die down. Chloe then headed back the way she had come, wearing nothing more than her thin uniform and no other warm clothing.

* * *

A few minutes later, she rounded the final bend in the path and the village came back into view. She was relieved to see that the transport trucks, jeeps and tank of Class G were now in the village. They had finally arrived and the sounds of battle were dying down now that reinforcements were in place.

Both Chloe and the child were shivering something fierce as they quickly descended the mountain path and were approaching the village. The streets were filled with cheering regular and Lanseal forces, along with the remaining Darcsen villagers. Many of them stopped and gasped as Chloe and the small child she was carrying came into view.

Noel-_who was closest_-turned towards the village and shouted, "Medic! We need some medics over here!"

A Darcsen man and woman approached Chloe and took the child from her, just as two female medics arrived on the scene and attempted to help Chloe. But she pushed them away, "Help the child! Not me!" she ordered.

Avan, Cosette and Zeri then ran up to Chloe and began tending to her. Avan took one of the blankets away from the medic and wrapped it around Chloe's shoulders. "They're only trying to help, Chloe! You're ice cold!"

"I don't care!" Chloe shot back, "They should be helping that poor girl!"

Zeri nodded to the medics, "Do as she says, we'll take her from here."

"Yes, sir!" both of the medics said, they then turned and rushed the child to the medical tents nearby.

As Avan and Cosette were rubbing their hands up and down Chloe's arm to try and warm her, an elderly Darcsen woman rushed up to her and took her hands, "Oh, bless you, missy! Bless you!" she cried, "We were all so worried about our Chloe, but you found her and brought her back!"

She then wrapped her arm around Chloe's back and began to lead her into the village, "Come on inside out of the cold. I'll fix you up something warm to eat and drink."

* * *

The next few hours were tense as everyone waited for any word on the young child's condition. Chloe sat in the kind woman's house, wrapped in a blanket and sitting in a chair with her hands wrapped around another steaming cup of hot chocolate. Zeri was pacing back and forth in the kitchen with his hands held together behind his back. The whole time, Cassandra wanted to say something to try and cheer her old friend up, but couldn't think of anything.

Then came the knock on the door. Chloe slowly stood up, Zeri rushed past her to answer it and the Darcsen woman took Chloe by the shoulders. The two medics then silently entered, Cosette and Avan were trailing behind them. Cosette was hugging something against her chest and had her eyes pointed down at the floorboards.

"It was hypothermia…" the senior medic said softly to Chloe.

"We did everything that we could, but…" the young female medic started, she then shook her head, "Perhaps if we had gotten her back sooner then-" But the senior medic grabbed her by the arm.

"You're not supposed to say that!" she warned.

Cosette then pushed past the both of them, and everyone saw her clutching the child's sketchbook to her chest, tears were visible in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Chloe… the little girl… she did not survive…" she told her, "She died, Chloe…"

Time itself seemed to stop and everything became silent after that message. Then all eyes turned to Chloe. Air escaped her nostrils as she sighed, and she simply nodded, then held out her hands and Cosette passed the sketchbook to her. Chloe took it, turned and began to tap it with her fingers while she walked to the kitchen at the back of the house at a slow pace. Cosette's heart went out to her and she wanted to try and comfort her, but Avan held out his arm.

"No, Cosette…" he said softly. He knew what kind of person Chloe was and that that's not what she wanted. Everyone in the house then began to stand next to Avan and Cosette as they looked on silently.

Then came a sound, a quick sniffle, followed by Chloe staggering slightly. She then sat in one of the dining room chairs and lowered her head and released another sniffle, followed by a stifled gasp or sob. And though she had her dark glasses on, visible tears were dripping out from under the lenses. She then removed her glasses and covered her eyes with her hand as she sobbed once more.

These new emotions seemed to take even Chloe by surprise, she looked over at everyone watching, then attempted to cover her face with both hands as she continued to break down even more. She choked on sobs that got stuck in her throat as she tried to hold them back, until finally, she stopped holding back and began to wail and cry out in sadness and pain. Tears flowed from her face in steady streams as she continued to sob and run her hands through her and clench tightly in her shaking fists.

Cassandra was particularly shocked as she removed her blue cap and rubbed the back of her head, "What is this…" she asked in disbelief, "Chloe's never cried before… Not from her treatment by the army in the last war, not for the horrible sights we had to endure, not for when her army and militia friends were killed in battle… any one of those would break a person and make them cry… but not Chloe… She's never, ever cried... until now..."

Avan sighed, "Maybe she's not just crying for the child… She must have been hiding all those emotions from the last war, and the death of this child was all that her heart and soul could take… now she cries for them all…"

Everyone nodded as they watched Chloe continue to cry in her chair. Her tears and sobs had soften up a little now as she held the child's sketchbook against her chest, hugged it and mourned the loss of someone so young and talented.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since that terrible, terrible day at Highever. But for most of the class, life was beginning to return to normal. All except for one, that person being Chloe Blixen. She had stopped attending class since that sad day. She even missed the awards ceremony that was held for those of Class G who took a major risk by going back with only the supplies on their backs and no tank support in the middle of a blinding snowstorm.

She was gone from class for so long class that Cosette was beginning to worry that she'd so fall so far behind that she'd be expelled. Fortunately, she was one of the few who knew where to look to find her, so she decided to check up on her. She also had other reasons to go and see her, so she headed to the art room and peeked inside. And just as she predicted, Chloe was inside. She was still standing in front of a large white canvas. But from her position, Cosette could only see the back of it and had no idea if there was even anything painted on it.

In the past Cosette knew that Chloe never liked to be disturbed while painting, so after checking up on her to see that she was alright, Cosette usually closed the door and left her alone. This time, however, was different. So Chloe pushed open the door while knocking to get Chloe's attention and not surprise her.

Chloe simply looked over and didn't say anything, then looked back at the canvas in front of her.

Cosette swallowed hard, even with her dark glasses on, Cosette knew that Chloe was glaring and despising her presence in the art room more and more with each passing second. So she decided to get right to the point.

"Hello, Chloe… I just came here to-" But she stopped as she rounded a table and saw two suitcases on either side of Chloe. "Chloe… what are you-"

"I'm leaving, that's what I'm doing." Chloe responded coldly.

"But why?" Cosette asked sadly.

"I'm done. I don't have anymore in me," Chloe responded, "I don't have it in me to fight anymore… I don't have it in me to help people anymore… and I… don't even have it in me to paint anymore…" Her voice cracked a little this time.

Cosette rounded the canvas and snuck a peek, but it was completely blank. Chloe noticed, despite how quick Cosettes glance was.

"I've tried… everyday since we got back to paint something, anything to help get my mind off of what happened. But… my creative spark is gone…" Chloe explained, "And what happened out at Highever, when I couldn't help that poor little girl proved that I'm a failure as a soldier as well… There's nothing here for me any longer, so I'm leaving."

Chloe then picked up her bags and was about to leave, but Cosette stepped in front of her and it was now that Chloe noticed a large glossy wooden box in her hand.

"Wait, I have something here for you, Chloe." Cosette said as she flipped open the box and revealed a large silver medal lying on top of a large felt blanket. "You missed the awards ceremony, to which you were the main guest of honour."

Chloe turned her head and looked away, "I don't deserve that, so get rid of it for me."

"But you do, Chloe!" Cosette responded, "Your boldness in heading back to the village on foot inspired the rest of Class G to do the same. Were it not for you, we probably would have all waited until we got the trucks and tank moving before we even tried. But then even more villagers… or perhaps all of them would have died in the second attack."

"I should have listened to Zeri…" Chloe admitted, "I can't stop thinking that if I hadn't of rushed off and left my gear behind… then I could have warmed her up and saved her… It's killing me…"

"I know, but she died knowing that you did everything that you could to try and save her life, Chloe. And that was the bravest and most awe inspiring thing I have ever seen… when you came back to the village carrying that little girl in your arms after having given her all of your warm clothing to try and save her.

None of us will ever forget that, Chloe, including that little girl."

Chloe shook her head, "You don't understand… I didn't do it all for that one little girl… I did it because of something that happened during the last war against the Empire.

When I was a just painter in that war, I was sent to a Darcsen settlement that had just been hit by a hunt. The army wanted me to paint a picture showing the devastation while it was still as fresh as it could be. Much of the army then moved on to continue patrolling, leaving Cassandra and I with little protection while we worked.

I painted while the remaining Darcsen villagers cared for their wounded and buried their dead… then another Imperial hunting party had returned and attacked the village once more, slaughtering even more of villagers…

I ran for my life and took cover behind a small hut… that was when I came across a family of Darcsens, huddled together inside. Two children and their mother, who had been shot multiple times and was dying there on the dirt floor. I'll never forget her face as she begged me to take her children to safety with her last dying breaths.

When that moment to do the right thing came… I froze… I was nothing more than a painter at the time, not a soldier. So I ran… I abandoned those poor kids to their death in order to get away from the battle and save my own life…"

Cosette raised a trembling hand to her face, "Chloe…"

"I know. I know what I did was wrong… and I've regretted it ever since." Chloe continued, "So I came to Lanseal Academy to start over, taking up a fighting position in this war to try and atone for my sin… another selfish choice I suppose. I felt that if I helped people, or saved a child in a war this time, then it might erase the guilt I felt from before and help me get back to my old self. But it isn't working…"

"…" By this time, Cosette was doing her best to hold her tears back and emit the sobs that were building up in her throat.

"No more painting… It all stops now."

"No! Don't say that, Chloe!" Cosette begged, "It's who you are, Chloe! It's what you do!"

Chloe placed her hand against her forehead, "You don't understand, Cosette." said Chloe, "I used to love to paint, and there were once times when I had hundreds of ideas flowing through my head at once. So much so that it made choosing which one to paint an incredibly daunting task.

But after that day when I left those poor children to die, I began having less and less ideas and the inspiration and spark to create paintings of my own, so I simply painted whatever I was told to. You can't possibly imagine how that feels to a once great artist… to have their spark burn less brightly as it did for me back then.

Then… when 'Chloe' died in Highever… it stopped. My spark is completely gone and my mind is now as blank and as quiet as this canvas…"

Chloe then closed her eyes and sighed, then heard the sounds of quick approaching footsteps, followed by a pair of arms wrapping around her neck and shoulders and pulling her forward. Cosette had embraced her into a tight hug and wasn't letting go.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe…" Cosette whispered in her ear.

Chloe was so shocked by Cosette's sudden show of affection that she remained standing still with her arms at her side, but she managed to ask, "For what?"

"I've severely misjudged you from day one, Chloe." Cosette said with a sad cracking voice, "I thought that you were nothing more than a grumpy, solitary girl who despised everyone around her. But my eyes have been opened since Highever… Now I see a girl who is and always has been in so much pain and has suffered inside for a very long time. Over two whole years…

But that's not all there is to you, there's also a whole lot of good inside you, Chloe. You showed everyone that when you went back to Highever during the second attack. And I don't believe it was simply to undo a past sin, I think it was because you wanted to try and save that little girl that day. Not because you felt you had to, but because you truly and honestly wanted to."

Chloe's eyes were beginning to well up with tears, and she was now really grateful that her dark glasses were covering this up. But she gasped loudly when Cosette suddenly reached up and removed her glasses from her face. Chloe shut her eyes and tried to turn her head to the side, but Cosette softly held her by the chin and turned her face back to her. And the moment Chloe opened her eyes, two tears fell from them and ran down her cheeks, leaving visible streaks.

"All these emotions that I never knew you had… If you can transfer them to here-" Cosette said as she tapped the canvas next to them, "Then you'll paint works that no artist can match, I just know it. So you see, Chloe… you can't leave, and you can't give up doing what you love to do."

"But I can't-"

"Yes, you can." Cosette encouraged as she patted Chloe on the arm, "None of us, not even the other Chloe from Highever would want you to stop painting. Everyone loves your art, even someone like me."

"What do you mean by 'someone like you'?" Chloe asked as she rubbed her eyes, trying to dry her tears.

"Not many people know this, and I've rarely told anyone… But I'm colorblind, Chloe. But I don't need to see the colors of your art to appreciate it… I can feel it! I feel the raw emotions that you put into your work and it's breathtaking!"

Chloe shook her head with her mouth open, "I never had anyone ever tell me that…"

"It's the truth, Chloe." a voice interrupted. Chloe and Cosette looked towards the door and saw Cassandra standing there. As she approached the two, they saw that she was carrying something in her hands. "And I'm sorry, old friend. I never took the time to appreciate your work, both before and during the last war.

I was far too focused on getting the perfect shot, one that would earn me the most reward. So I was more selfish than you ever were… I did it all for money, you did it to portray the horrors of war so that other's may see it and understand…"

Cassandra then set down the folder she was carrying, "These are all the pictures I took of Highever that I was able to salvage from my camera. All of the pictures of you turned out, Chloe. Including some of the village attack and the little girl who died…"

Cassandra then flipped open the folder and picked up the picture on top and passed it to Chloe. Chloe's other hand covered her mouth as she looked down at a black and white photo of her and the small Darcsen child who had died. She was kneeling down on one knee, the child was across from her and she had her hand against the young girls arm in what looked like a kind, affectionate gesture.

"The picture turned out after all, Chloe… And I think it's the only one worth saving. The rest can go in the trash." Cassandra said.

"What?" Chloe asked in disbelief.

"I haven't been a very good friend to you, Chloe. But after what happened at Highever and seeing how hard it was on you… I'll respect your wishes and privacy and not turn in any of the photos I took of you or the village."

"Cassandra…" Chloe said happily.

Cassandra began to back away towards the door, "I think I'll take a short hiatus, but you have my word, that when I come back, I won't snap pictures of you or anywhere you're stationed. It's the least I can do for you, old friend.

One more thing before I go… Promise me that you won't stop painting. I've come to respect and appreciate your art so very much in the last few days and would love to see more, maybe even buy some off of you! So don't stop now! Promise?"

Chloe looked at Cassandra, then over to Cosette and she nodded. "Alright… I promise."

Cassandra smiled and bowed, "Good, farewell… my old friend. Until our next meeting…" She then left the art room.

Chloe then looked down at the photo and continued to cry softly. She knew this child had so much potential and for once, Chloe wished that she could have taken her under her wing and taught her to unleash her full potential as an artist. Suddenly, from the centre of her heart and soul, Chloe felt the spark begin to return and burn within her, quickly growing and new ideas for portraits began to whiz through her mind once more. It was a wonderful feeling to have come back to her, and she began to cry even harder as she held a hand against her beating heart.

"Chloe, are you alright?" Cosette asked worriedly.

Chloe nodded and began to push Cosette towards the door, "I'm fine. Please, leave me be. I've got to get this down before it fades!"

"You mean?" Cosette asked excitedly. Chloe chuckled and nodded her head while wiping away some tears. Cosette clapped happily, "That's wonderful! I'll leave you to it!"

Chloe then put on an apron, pulled the two small tables littered with painting and art supplies up to either side of the large white canvas and set them up. She then grabbed her palette and quickly began squeezing out tubes of paint onto it and mixing it up with her palette knife. Then, after the colors were mixed and separated and she dapped her brush into the first color, and took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Ever so slowly, she extended her trembling hand out towards the white canvas, while tears streamed from her eyes. The moment her brush made contact with the canvas and she started the first few strokes, she laughed while crying at that familiar feeling of joy that once got and feared was gone forever. She then set to work and began to paint and paint and paint as a master painters speed, her work taking shape and becoming more and more beautiful with each passing minute.

* * *

The next evening, Cosette returned to the art room with Zeri and Avan in tow. They knocked on the door and then entered. They saw Chloe sitting at a table a few feet away from her large white canvas. Her white uniform shirt was covered in paint, and she was resting her head against her arms that were on top of the table and she was… snoring and breathing deeply. She was fast asleep. This showed just how long and hard she must have worked, most likely right through the entire night.

Everyone tiptoed around her canvas and looked on at her art.

On the huge canvas was a picture of the village of Highever once again. Only this time, the village was completely intact, the sun was shining, revealing the full beauty of the snow capped mountains in the background. Fluffy white clouds were passing through the sky, while down below, Chloe was on one knee with her hand wrapped around the small Darcsen child named 'Chloe's waist from behind. Her other hand was helping to guide a paint brush held in the small girls hand, going along a canvas set up just outside her house. On the canvas was a picture of a white snow rabbit that was nearing completion with the help of Chloe's skilled hand. The child's grandmother was sitting on the steps of her house and applauding the duo, while the other small Darcsen children of the village were gathered together behind them and watching the two artists paint together, almost as one body, one mind, one soul. It was a perfect picture of a master painter teaching her new apprentice.

Cosette cupped her hands over her mouth, completely awe struck by the detail of the portrait. Though she couldn't see the colors, she could 'feel' the emotion, love and yearning that it showed.

"This. Is. Amazing!" Cosette exclaimed happily

Zeri crossed his arms and smiled, "Wonderful. Simply wonderful." Zeri complimented, "It's so nice to see a picture that doesn't portray the suffering that my people have had to endure. There's a lot of love and happiness here..."

Behind them, Chloe yawned and was stretching out her arms and cracking her fingers that had stiffened from holding her brush and Palette for so long. She then got up and walked over to Avan and the others.

"It feels good to be back at my old trade, full swing." said Chloe, "In fact, with all the ideas and inspiration that I have now… I was thinking of another way that I can give back to Gallia, one that will do a whole lot of good."

"What is it?" Avan asked.

"I'm going to start an art class and teach young artists the ways of the brush and canvas. That is how I will contribute to the post-war efforts, teaching the young the joys of painting and how to bring their visions to life through art.

That little girl, Chloe in Highever, she wanted to go to Randgriz one take and take an art class and learn to become a better artist and painter. So, I think that that's what I will do, I'm a master painter and would like to pass on my gift to others…"

"That's a wonderful idea, Chloe!" Cosette complimented.

"Do you take only children?" Avan asked, "Because… you know, even I feel slightly inspired by your newest work and would like to take up the brush."

Chloe laughed, "Sure, I'll take anyone who's willing to learn," Chloe said, "Except…"

"Except what?" Zeri asked.

Chloe's face became slightly sad as she walked towards her canvas, extended her hand out and touch area of the painting where she and the other Chloe were painting together, and everyone knew what she meant. "My only regret is… that she cannot be my first student… How I wish that she could have been…"

**THE END**


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